Mark 15:34
Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi Eloi, lema sabachthani” which means, “My God, my God why have you abandoned me?”
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A Shared Suffering
Have you ever felt abandoned by God? Maybe you didn’t say that out loud, but in your heart you felt it. There are times when we go through periods of deep and profound need but God doesn’t seem to be showing up for us. There is only silence. Yet, in truth, God’s goodness is most manifest in those kinds of moments but we can’t see it because our emotions blind us.
We have to hold onto our faith, because God will reveal Himself as we walk the pathway of suffering. So often we pray to be like Jesus but are blind to the full reality of what that means. It includes sharing in His sufferings, experiencing forsakenness and abandonment like He felt on the cross.
Mark Galli said, “For us to suffer the loss of all things means among other things to suffer the loss of the props that have become idols. It means to crucify a faith that avoids the Cross. It means to recognize that not even the experience of forsakenness saves us, but only Jesus Himself.
To suffer the loss of all things means to say with Paul, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by in faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20).”
Today is Good Friday, when we meditate deeply upon Jesus’ death. Ask God to deepen your understanding of what it means for you to share in His suffering.
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Enjoy the Full 6-Day Series
- Monday, April 15 – Faithful to Your Mission – w/ Pastor Jamal Jones
- Tuesday, April 16 – Give Your Purest Worship – w/ Pastor Marlyn DeFoggi
- Wednesday, April 17 – Surrender to Peace – w/ Pastor Jeremy Woltz
- Thursday, April 18 – Confident in His Strength – w/ Pastor John Kelly
- Friday, April 19 – Share in His Suffering – w/ Pastor Dave DeMasters
- Saturday, April 20 – Faith in the Silence – w/ Pastor Lisa Eggert
Revisit Last Year’s Holy Week devotionals
Watch the 6-part Holy Week 2018 video series, The Week God Died, on YouTube
One Comment
Trish Wyatt
Thanks. Sometimes I need those words on a daily basis.