In Christ We Are Never Forsaken Or Alone

"Today's Devotion" For June 30, 2005

Read: Matthew 27:45-49; Psalm 22

IN CHRIST WE ARE NEVER FORSAKEN OR ALONE

"'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'"(Mt.27:46b)

Feeling alone is not a good feeling. Have you ever felt that way? While I know that I'm never really alone, because the Lord is at my side every moment of my life (even when I'm not paying attention to Him), I can honestly say I've felt alone more times than I care to count. It’s a really terrible feeling. At the same time as I make this confession, I'm reminded of people I've counseled over the years whose loneliness seemingly knew no bounds. They were people, many of them Christians, who felt so very much alone that it seemed to them they were they only persons left on the face of the earth. They felt so alone, that they were convinced that there was no one else who could understand their pain, sorrow, anguish, despair, or other feelings associated with being alone. For many of those whom I have met, they shared that they were experiencing a sense of abandonment by everyone and everything in their lives.

Do you know anyone like that? Perhaps you're such a person. On the other hand, perhaps you're a person who has a great deal of difficulty understanding how others could feel so lonely or alone. It's not uncommon for some people to believe that other people are exaggerating their "issues and circumstances," blowing them all out of proportion. Loneliness, however, can reasonably be seen as a symptom of spiritual, emotional, and economic poverty. All around us are people who are daily experiencing great loneliness. They may feel estranged from God and others because of something they've done or something that was done to them (ex.- A woman who has been assaulted). There are those who feel estranged from God and others because of emotional challenges, often leading to suicidal behavior. Then there are those who live in economic poverty who have no food or shelter, and no prospects for a job. We can add to these examples those orphans who have lost their parents, as well as those whose parents beat them or otherwise abused them and were subsequently removed from their homes and place in foster care. Lest we forget, loneliness is also a constant companion for displaced persons, the refugees, fleeing from death, famine, destruction, tyranny, and the like. For so many of them, there is an overwhelming feeling that no one cares and that they are forsaken by the world.

If you've ever been in that place in your life, you know what it feels like. It's hard to trust others because so many people and circumstances have been found wanting and untrustworthy. Yet, in the midst of such feelings and that sense of abandonment we have the sure and certain assurance that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ truly understands and identifies with those feelings. Taking on our human form, our precious Savior experienced the loneliness and despair that Sin brings into the lives of human beings. His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane reminds us that He was aware that He would soon be standing all alone against the relentless and savage onslaught of Sin and Satan. He knew His disciples would abandon Him and He would be left to the savage mercies of the Sanhedrin and the soldiers of Rome. He understood that in a few short hours of His time of prayer in Gethsemane, he would be nailed to the Cross, hung out for all who passed to revile and mock, and, in the end, feel the ultimate abandonment of His Father because of Sin. He knew the anguish of that abandonment as He cried out from the Cross, "My God, My God, Why have You forsaken me?"

Jesus is our hope in times of loneliness and despair. He understands better than anyone else in the whole world, even those who feel lonely, abandoned, and in despair what it means to be totally forsaken by all, even the Father. We have His assurance that He is always with us. He assures us that we never experience anything in life alone, because He is always right by our side. There is no one in all of Creation who truly understands and knows what really being lonely and alone - totally abandoned - as Jesus does. Because of His sacrifice for us we have God's promise that we are never alone, nor are we ever abandoned by Him. Because of Jesus' sacrifice for the sins of the world, and believing God's promises in Him, we need never feel lonely and alone ever again. We have God's own promise that we are His fully adopted and redeemed children. We are His very own, and He will never leave us or forsake us. We need never again feel lonely or alone.

Prayer: Father, when my Lord Jesus cried out "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" He took the whole punishment for sin upon His shoulders and paid the ultimate price. He did it for me. He experienced the full brunt of what being truly lonely and alone really means - being totally forsaken and forgotten by You. Jesus' sacrifice for me and the whole world means that by faith in Him I am assured that I am always held in the very palm of Your almighty and loving hand; that I'm never alone, even in an empty room; that You know my every fear, desire, weakness, and want and bless me with all that I need for life and living. Father, I pray that You would send Your Word and Spirit upon me in abundant measure each day so that I may always be enabled to face feelings of loneliness and abandonment with faith in Your promises that in Jesus I am always in Your presence and am never alone. Help me to share that truth with those around me who are in despair, whether physical or spiritual, so they, too, may be assured of Your full presence and love in Christ in their lives. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.