Have you ever heard something that even though it wasn't directed at you, you feel it is meant directed at you. Well this Sunday I had that moment. My church had a sermon today on the words Jesus cries out on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46 or Mark 15:14)
I know on this blog I have spoken about some of the harder times I am going through right now in my life and I have often wondered "why is this happening to me?", "why am I going through this pain?", "what is this all for?".
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Sorry after I wrote out my prayer I realized the post was really long so I decided to split it into two part. So back to the sermon.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
How many times have I felt distant from God and alone. We have all had moments where we question God. And the first thing my pastor said that it is okay to question God because our questions mark our walk in our faith. We should turn our questions to God. Then he stated a survey that asked "If you could ask God one question what would it be?" The number one answer dealt with "why does God let suffering happen?" I do not have all the answers but I do not believe God allows suffering to happen. God created our earth to be perfect and it was when sin entered the picture that the world was separated from God's perfection. Jesus who was perfection himself and he took on all the sin on himself and I think in that time He felt all the punishment that sin causes us and he felt the separation we live with.
God mad Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. ~2 Corinthians 5:21
This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ~ 1 John 4:10
So Jesus calls out... "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
This passage comes from the start of Psalm 22. I have been reading Psalm on my own and I have noticed a pattern in then is that they start off calling to God in agony and they end in hope. But between the calling out to God and the hope God gives us there is a verse that my pastor pointed out to us...
For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one:
He has not hidden His face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
~Psalm 22: 24
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ~Romans 8:18
I do not have all the answers but as I was sitting through the sermon I really like hearing that God has not left me. He has not left me and He has promised He will never leave me. He didn't leave Jesus and He is not going to leave me. I know I am going through some hard times right now and no matter what I feel I know God is with me. After the service I wanted to give my pastor a hug and tell him it was "what I needed to hear." I didn't.
#Notforsaken
Now to explain the picture my Church is doing a Instragram project where they are collecting images from the themes of the sermon. As I was walking home I saw a some budding. After all the snow we have had in Boston it was great to see some flowers coming out. I feel this is very symbolic of what is going on in my life. I'm going through a winter but soon it will be spring and I can see a little bit more hope.
Other passages:
Hebrews 9:26
2 Corinthians 5:18, 19
Romans 6:11, 14
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