March 7, 2025 Devo

Do those words sound familiar? They should. They were quoted by Jesus on the cross. Not exactly the kind of words you’d expect from the King of Kings. But we sometimes forget that He was as fully man as He was fully God. And this was Jesus feeling His humanity to the max. In less than a week, He had gone from being cheered in a hero’s parade to being jeered at a public execution. He had been betrayed. He had been abandoned by His disciples. He had been unjustly accused, tried, and convicted. He had been mocked, spit upon, and publicly beaten. Then He was nailed to a cross and left to die. Though Jesus KNEW God was with Him, it didn’t FEEL that way. So, He quoted a passage that expressed to His Father exactly how He felt. It wasn’t Jesus being weak. It wasn’t Jesus lacking faith. It was Jesus being REAL. And it was also Jesus letting us know He understands us.
When David wrote this psalm, he had no idea he was being prophetic. Several of the lines he wrote, including this one, were perfect depictions of the events of the cross. But David DID know what it was like to feel forgotten and alone. He DID know the pain of being persecuted, betrayed, and treated like a criminal. When David wrote these words, he wrote them for himself. But he was writing words given to him by God Himself. Words the Lord knew His Son would speak one day. Words of understanding and empathy.
Maybe some of us just had a week like Jesus. Maybe some of us went from triumph to tragedy in just a few days. Maybe some of us got falsely accused of things we never said or did. Maybe some of us had people we trusted who abandoned us, betrayed us, or hurt us. Maybe some of us lost a job, lost a friend, or just lost hope. Maybe, if we were being real, our prayer today would be wondering why God has forsaken us, too. And even though we may know in our head He hasn’t, it sure feels that way.
I want to give you permission to pray that prayer and to ask God that question. Jesus did. God wasn’t put off by Jesus quoting that verse, and He won’t be put off by you being real with Him either. In fact, He WANTS you to be real with Him. He also wants you to know that’s the reason Jesus came. So that your pain would be real to Him. As you cry out to God, you are crying out to one who has been where you are and felt what you feel. He shares your agony with you. You may feel forsaken today, but you are not forsaken. Jesus has been where you are. He gets what you’re going through. So cry out to Him with all the emotion you need to. Jesus will weep with you. Because whatever you’re feeling today, this I can promise you. Jesus felt it FIRST. That’s God’s Word for you today.