My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
Psalm 22:1

“Forsaken” is a word that I believe I first learned from hearing Jesus say it in a passion play that my congregation would put on for Good Friday every year.  I would hear Jesus say the words “My God, My God, why have you Forsaken me?”  I remember learning what the word meant, and pondering – why would God “forsake” Jesus. Why would God forsake his only beloved Son?

Although I conceptually had learned what it meant to be “forsaken,” it is a concept that cannot truly be appreciated until it has been experienced.  Forsaken – the feeling of abandonment that accompanies a marriage that ends in divorce.  Forsaken – the emotional pain and shame that a son or daughter feels from parents or supposed friends after expressing their challenges with homosexuality. Forsaken – the guilt that accompanies the convict who sits in prison and has not heard from anyone in his “previous” life – family members included.

Perhaps your “abandonment” is different.  Praise God if you learned about being “forsaken” in a different, and perhaps less severe, way.

But no matter what, please know this my dear friend – however forsaken you have felt – Jesus can empathize with You.  Jesus knew what it was like to be forsaken by his own dear Father!

If you are feeling abandoned, forsaken, or alone today, know that although Jesus was for a short time abandoned by His father on the Cross, God still raised him from the dead on Easter morning.  Know that your forsakenness, your abandonment, your loneliness is only temporary as well.  Even better, you are not alone even now, since Christ our Lord has promised to be with us always.  All who are baptized into the name of Christ Jesus have His Holy Spirit today, tomorrow, and forever.  We are NEVER alone.  NEVER forsaken!

My God, My God, I do not know nor can I comprehend how you could forsake your Son.  I thank you today that you did not abandon him forever, and that in and through Him, you have promised to be with me always as well. Dispel all fear.  Give me courage to face tomorrow, for you are with me!

Written By: Pastor Koenig