Forsaken

"My G-d, My G-d, why have You forsaken Me?"

This was the cry of Jesus from the cross just before His death (Matt 27:36).  Did G-d abandon him there?  Why would Jesus say such a thing when we are told as early as the Torah that "... the Lord your G-d, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”  (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Jesus died on the cross, bearing a load of sin that is incomprehensible.  Imagine the worst thing you've ever done.  Now imagine the worst sin you can think of that anybody has done.  Now add those together and multiply by 7 billion.  That's how much sin abounds if everyone alive today on the earth only commits one sin.  Now add to that all of our daily indiscretions, lies, omissions, acts of will, etc. and you can see that this mountain of sin is immeasurable.  That should give you a tiny idea of how much guilt and pain Jesus had to bear in order to pay the price for all of us.

As described previously, death can be defined as a separation, a dividing of things that ought to be united, such as G-d and Man, Body and Soul, etc. At the point just before his death, Jesus was separated from his Father, G-d, by the load of sin he was wearing.  He felt alone and abandoned because sin, which is dark, obliterates light and Jesus lost sight of the Father through the cloud of darkness.  But once his soul was released to the hands of G-d, that burden fell away and the light was once again able to shine through.  In truth, G-d never forsook him, Jesus just felt the weight of his burden rather than the buoyancy of G-ds grace.

"For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'." (Hebrews 13:5)

If we are going to believe any of G-d's word, we need to believe all of it or there is no validity in any of it.    G-d said he would never leave us nor forsake us and that included His own Son.  God never forsook Jesus on the cross.  He did allow him to suffer the pain and humiliation of the penalty for human sin.  G-d did not rescue His son from the ravages of cruelty inflicted on him by mankind.  But He did NOT forsake Him.  When the price was paid and the deal was struck, G-d was right there beside him to accept his burdened soul back into His loving kindness (His Chesed).  It was His plan all along.

But what about us?  We aren't Jesus.  We aren't "the Savior" who lived a perfect life.  We are flawed. We sin. We lie, we cheat, we steal, we hurt one another, and that's all before lunch sometimes!  Will   G-d forsake us at some point?

Let me say it again:

"For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'."  If we are going to believe any of G-d's word, we need to believe all of it or there is no validity in any of it.

This doesn't mean that G-d is running to our rescue for every little discomfort, tough situation, or burden that we don't want to carry.  We are often subject to situations that leave us feeling "less than blessed".  No where does G-d tell us that believing in Him or following Him will be easy and trouble-free, but He does give us His strength to endure (Philippians 4:13).  He promises to lift us up, carry our burdens, and provide strength suitable for whatever task He sets before us.  If we are walking in His path, He will walk with us and guide our steps.  Isaiah 40:29 tells us that "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

It is important to note here that G-d's strength is ours to harness to do His will.  One of the mistakes people make is to create a situation outside of G-d's plan, and then expect G-d to either jump on board with their plans, or extricate them from the mess they've made.  He does not promise to help us out of every mess we create.  The problem with this scenario is that when G-d "fails" to follow our instruction (Help me! Lord, prosper my plans), we rarely take the time to evaluate the situation in light of His word.  G-d gets the rap for not coming through for us, or we feel that our faith is somehow lacking.  It can turn into a downward spiral that can cause even the faithful to fall away.

It is important to make sure that your plans are aligned with the will of G-d before you jump in with both feet.   2 Timothy 2:15 tell us "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  Another translation says "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  In the grand scheme of things, we are called to be workers, not planners.  G-d isn't looking for a brain trust, he's gathering an army.  Before we launch into what we consider to be "good works" we need to do a double check and make sure we're on the right path.  Just because an action seems good to us doesn't mean that it is automatically approved by G-d  (Proverbs 14:12).

Let's go back a minute to the second part of the scripture in 2 Timothy.  I think we can agree now that it is necessary to study G-d's word, His plan, and discover our role within it, but the second part of the scripture mentioned "rightly dividing the word of truth".  How exactly does one do that?  The Greek word used in the original manuscripts for "rightly dividing"  is the Greek verb   orthotomeo.  At the time this was written, orthotomeo was a civil engineering term meaning  "to cut straight, or to guide on a straight path". The idea is to cut a roadway or pipeline in a straight manner, so that whoever or whatever will travel over that path can arrive at their destination directly, without deviation. Orthotomeo was also used as a mining term meaning to drill a straight shaft so that the miners can get quickly and safely to the lode.

That said, "rightly dividing the word of truth" would mean to study G-d's word to find the straight path that He would have each of us to follow.  We should study scripture accurately, as a single, unified whole (both covenants), without being turned aside by false teaching or man-made agendas.  There are many examples, admonitions, stories, and details that are recorded in the scriptures which add clarity, color, and life applications to G-d's instructions.  Still, the Bible is a very complex book and it can sometimes seem daunting to know what G-d wants from us.  That's where faith, prayer, and fellowship come in.

When we are striving to please Him and doing the best we know how to do, He is there for us, to see us through to the end of each day.  All we have to do is ask for His help to carry on.  “In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.” (Psalm 138:3).  Again, this does not mean that G-d is at our beck and call.  He is the Omniscient One, not us.  Our strength, our sight, our perceptions, and our desires are all limited by our human condition.  G-d, on the other hand, can see the end result of our labors, he can see what we cannot and often times, having faith means moving forward without knowing the outcome.  Read Hebrews 11.  Here you will encounter an impressive list of people who followed G-d's instructions out of faith.  Yet verse 13 tells us "These all died in faith, not having received the promises…"  But G-d did not forsake them.  Ever.

Too bad the same can't be said for us.  So many times throughout scripture, G-d's people have turned away from His face, from His ways:

· "Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods" (Judges 10:13)

· "… they have forsaken Me and served other gods" (1 Sam 8:8)

· "Because they have forsaken Me…" (I Kings 11:33)

· "Because they have forsaken Me…" (2 Kings 22:17)

· "Because they have forsaken Me…" (2 Chron 34:25)

· "Because they have forsaken Me…" (Jer 1:16)

· "Your children have forsaken Me" (Jer 5:7)

· "Your fathers have forsaken Me" (Jer 16:11)

· "They have forsaken the right way…" (2 Peter 2:15)

And on and on it goes.  We are unreliable, self-serving, fickle, and, as G-d himself put it, stiff-necked.  Granted, at the time He used that last phrase, he was primarily speaking of the Israelites, but let's be honest, they aren't all that different from the rest of us in that regard.  G-d actually called them a stiff-necked people about a dozen times!  He even instructed Moses to tell the people that He thought they were a tiny bit stubborn (Deuteronomy 33:5).

But G-d never fails.  He never goes back on His word, He never changes, and He never forsakes us, despite ourselves.  Even on the occasions in scripture where G-d appears to turn His back on His people, it is only temporary and it is to show them what they are giving up if they abandon His grace and mercy.  In the end, when they cry to return, G-d is always faithful to welcome them back.

He loves us and He will never forsake us.