Forsaken By GodMatt. 27:46
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”And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46
Everyone alive knows the touch of God. It is called “common grace” in that it applies to all humanity. Every good thing that comes into a sinner’s life is because of common grace. This includes intangible things like: friendship, courage, love, joy, etc. It also includes tangible things like, a physical body, family, house, weather, etc. Anything that this is good on any level is ultimately from God. If we are deprived of some of these things it is a small picture of being forsaken by God.
”Special grace” is the term for those who have accepted Christ’s work on Calvary. They have entered into a personal relationship with God and will never be forsaken by God. Circumstances of life may come to try this faith, but the fact is they are secure in the hand of God.
Jesus was stripped of everything so that this special grace could be available to everyone. [Common grace is also only available because of the work of the Cross.] His body was shredded until the bones were visible and almost all traces of skin had vanished. His mind was devastated by betrayal, denial, and rejection until He could no longer think of Himself as any higher than a worm [Ps. 22]. The One Whose value was more than the entire creation was torn down. Then finally - at His moment of greatest need - the loving presence of God, which had always surrounded Him, was removed. The result was a hollow Spirit crushed by loneliness and emptiness. Faith was put to its greatest test. Would Jesus give up in despair or would He hold on in faith that everything was not as it appeared? Thank God He didn’t give up - the destiny of the world hung on that one decision.
Let us never take our entrance into the Kingdom of God lightly. Let us do our best to be faithful stewards of all that God has placed in our trust. Let us work - through the power of the Holy Spirit - to see the benefits of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ reach their maximum impact on this earth. Let others not miss the good news because we gave up in a time of despair or fear.
Whatever has happened in the past is past. If it was failure, forgiveness is found at the foot of the Cross. We step from this moment into the future...let us do so with faith and courage to fulfill our God-given destiny.
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