I was reading in my Bible today about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. I am currently reading in Mark 15, and although I have read verse 34 many times throughout the years, the word forsaken jumped off the page at me today. No matter how many times I tried to keep reading, I kept coming back to the word forsaken.
I have often heard sermons or read about how God turned His back on His Son at the Cross on the day Jesus was crucified, but this word never stood out to me before now. I needed to know exactly what this word meant. This is what I found.
The word forsaken means:
- To leave behind in some place
- To desert
- To leave
- To renounce
- To turn away from entirely
- To refuse to recognize
- To withdraw from
- To abandon
- To reject
I stopped to meditate a little bit about the meaning of this word, and the depth of its meaning touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. Our loving God turned His back on His Son at the Cross. He refused to recognize Him. He rejected Him. For that one moment in Jesus’ life, His Father deserted Him and turned His face away from Jesus.
I cannot imagine the agony that God felt as He turned His back on His Son. He could not look upon Him because of our sins that He bore in His body so that we could go to Heaven. Imagine how Jesus felt, knowing that His Father had forsaken Him in His moment of need! However, remember that the Bible does not say that God did not love Him. He may have needed to turn His back on Jesus for a moment, but He still loved His Son.
There have been times in my life as a parent when I have needed to exercise tough love toward my children. It was never a pleasant time, but it never got to the point that I totally abandoned, deserted, or entirely turned away from my children. They always knew I loved them.
There may have been times in our lives when we have felt forsaken, abandoned, or deserted by God. Often, it is because of our own doing. It is usually because we have started to put other things ahead of seeking God. We skip a midweek service, stop reading the Bible daily, or decide we do not need to go soulwinning anymore. Even the best of Christians can get sidetracked and forsake God.
The Bible tells us that Demas took his eyes off God. II Timothy 4:9-10 says, Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
If we find ourselves feeling forsaken by God, we should take a moment to reevaluate where we are in life and see if maybe it is us who have forsaken or deserted God.
The Bible contains many verses that tell how God will never forsake us.
In Psalm 9:10, He promises never to leave those who truly seek Him: And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
In Psalm 37:25-26, He promises that He will always take care of and provide for us: I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
My favorite promise of all is found in Deuteronomy 31:6: Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
God will never forsake us, no matter what happens. He may give us tough love and turn away from us for a time because of our sin, but He will never leave us nor forsake us!
by April Hernandez
