PrintBut the time is coming — in fact, it is already here — when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. (John 16:32 NLT)
Then, at that time Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34 NLT)
Well, which one of those statements is true? The answer, of course, is that they are both true even though each seems to contradict the other. The first is a statement of faith and confidence: ".....the Father is with me". The second is a cry of abandonment: "....my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Although it seems almost sacrilegious to compare my life experiences with the unique, cosmic drama that was taking place in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, I find that both statements are true in my own spiritual journey.
Sometimes I walk in the security and awareness of the presence of the Lord God. The Father is with me and, equally, I am with Him. Even though human friends may be "scattered" and the scene is set for loneliness, my Heavenly Father is with me so I cannot be alone.
However, there are times when my heart cries out from within a season of seeming abandonment. These are seasons where the spiritual landscape is bare - even desolate. The Father who is with me becomes (so it feels) the God who has forsaken me. The vista is empty. Prayer is "tinny" in that it sounds hollow. There are words spoken in prayer but they just hang in the air. They lack energy, substance and direction.
What bothers me at such times is that I often don't really care. Then again, maybe I do care otherwise why am I acknowledging this reality?
What causes these times of spiritual desolation when God seems to have abandoned me? To put that another way, what was it that made Jesus feel abandoned by His Father? In a word - SIN. But not His own sin (He didn't have any sin in His life). In a way that I shall never understand, Jesus took my sin, absorbed it into Himself, made it His own & died as though He had committed every sin of every person in every era in the history of our world.
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT)
There is no doubt in my mind that the major contributor to my sense of being abandoned by God, of being alone on the journey, is SIN. That is not to suggest that the apparent absence of God can be exclusively attributed to sin. Yes, I recognize that there are times when God may seem to hide His presence to increase our passion for Him. Such desert experiences have been the lot of God-followers from the very beginning.
But most often the sense of alienation is caused by the presence of sin. The "absence" of God is caused by the presence of sin. I recall the following verses.....
"You are perfectly just in this. But will you, who cannot allow sin in any form, stand idly by........?" (Habakkuk 1:13 NLT)
"If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer". (Psalms 66:18-19 NLT)
When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the LORD." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. (Psalms 32:3-5 NLT)
Despite what seems or 'feels' to be the case, if there is anyone trying to hide in my relationship with God, it is me, not Him! This response of hiding was pioneered by Adam and Eve who, having sinned, tried to hide themselves when they heard the Lord God seeking them towards the end of the day.
How foolish for me to think that it is possible to escape God's presence and to hide myself from Him.
I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night — but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. (Psalms 139:7-12 NLT)
