Why Am I Forsaken?
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me . . . forsaken me . . . forsaken me?” My voice echoed off the canyon walls, so feeble I almost failed to recognize it as my own. As I remembered the words of Jesus when He hung on the cross, I whimpered, “I am facing a Golgotha of my own.”
The darkness covering the sky seemed to eclipse my soul as well. The air was stale and heavy, not even a hint of a cool breeze. The suffocating heat made me weak. I couldn’t breathe.
The sweat from my brow and the tears from my eyes mingled and drizzled into my mouth. The bitter taste made me wince and upset my stomach. Weakness overwhelmed me and I yearned for release.
“Death, where are you?” I choked and almost slipped into unconsciousness.
A sinister laugh brought me to my senses. An evil one stood before me with hateful words spewing from his lips. With mocking tones, he taunted me. I flinched when he grabbed me, but I was too weak to escape his vise-like grip. “Ah! What’s the matter, my friend? Have you lost all your power?”
I didn’t respond to his deriding remarks.
“Now where is your God? He has abandoned you because you are worthless to him! You belong to me now!” The wicked one chuckled with delight and chanted in a singsong voice, “You failed! You failed! You failed! Darkness has prevailed because you have failed!”
His echo pierced my soul, and I fought to turn my thoughts from his negative comments lest I believe his lies.
“Your God,” he sneered, “has left you here to die, but don’t be afraid. I will take you with me to dwell with my friends.” He roared with delight, and his laughter reverberated off the walls in a deafening sound. “Now curse your God and die! Curse him for leaving you.”
I gasped for air and cried in despair, “My God, my God , why have you forsaken me?”
Light pierced the sky, descending in brightness until it penetrated the canyon where I lay. An angel of God, chiseled and mighty, stood by my side. I saw the power of the Almighty in his eyes. “Jehovah has sent me to strengthen you.”
“Where is Jehovah?” I whimpered.
The angel glared at the devil. “Jehovah has sent me to deal with you!”
Satan winced but didn’t back down. “So you come to interfere with me? This one is not worth your time!”
The angel waved a sword in the air. “Not so! This one belongs to Jehovah. He is not for sale. Jehovah bought him years ago. Once he purchases a soul, he does not relinquish it unless the soul desires it of him.”
“Ah!” The devil arched his back and hissed, “But this one went astray!”
“Liar! He did not stray.” The angel stood between my enemy and my battered, bleeding body. “Life brought him almost more than he had the strength to bear, but Jehovah has always been there. Now he is hovering over the precipice of death!”
The devil sneered and paced before me. “Ha! His God has left him here to die! Why does Jehovah wait so long to come and rescue him if he is so important?”
The angel took a deliberate step toward the enemy. “Jehovah’s timing is perfect. He knows when to rescue and when it’s best to wait.”
The wicked one’s lip curled in anger. “You make it too easy for him, rescuing him in this difficult place.”
“Oh, darkened one, he is fully aware who is rescuing him.” The angel pointed toward heaven. “Each time Jehovah rescues souls from this veil of despair, they are deeply touched by his mercy and faithfulness to them. Their confidence in him grows and Jehovah builds within each one the strength needed for the next round because they realize their great need of him.”
My soul was strengthened when I reflected back to another time and another place. On Calvary’s Hill, the Son of God took his final breath and declared with all the strength he could muster, “It is finished!”
Suddenly, light split the hillside and the veil of the temple was torn in two. Wails could be heard throughout the crowd. A Roman soldier cried, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Three days later, a large boulder rolled away from the tomb and Christ arose triumphant from the tomb. The enemy called death was crushed underfoot because the Son of God survived the test of faithfulness when his Father, who couldn’t bear to look at the sins of mankind that were placed upon his body, withdrew from his presence for a time. Death lost! Life won!
Jesus invites everyone reading the true account of his life to come to him today. He will give eternal life and rest for your souls.
And for those who fall into the valley of despair, the Father is only a prayer away. He will never leave you nor forsake you!
Everyone has to reach their breaking point and choose to believe in the promise of the Unseen, God is faithful but are we?
