Forsaken

At the cross, He cried out,

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Mark 27:46

I have felt painfully alone lately. Alone, surrounded by family and even dozens in my return to the workplace. Fear has crept in and taken up residence in this heart. No one knows the depths of my hurt, the disappointment, the anxiety, the loss, the sorrow, and the grief I feel.

But truthfully, I am not alone. Jesus was the only one who was ever truly alone. On that cross, He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 27:46). When I feel alone, believing the lies of the enemy, looking at my circimstances instead of looking to Him, I, too cry out. But then I must listen, trust, believe the only One who truly knows loneliness, the One who took my place. He was forsaken, abandoned, and left alone so I would not be.

Writer Marvin J. Rosenthal notes, Jesus was forsaken to a degree that no other man has ever known - He was forsaken utterly and utterly forsaken. He was forsaken by the world He created.He was forsaken by the nation from which He sprang. He was forsaken by the village in which He lived. He was forsaken by the brothers with whom He grew up. He was forsaken by the disciples He had trained. He was forsaken by the Father with whom He had eternally fellowshipped. Jesus was forsaken that you and I,through faith in Him, need never be forsaken. Here then, is grace –grace greater than all our sin.

His closeness does not depend on my feelings or my situation. Whenever I am so anxious and overwhelmed I can believe He understands, my heavenly Father is there.