Dear Sisters,
“‘My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?’” Mark 15:34b.
At the instant of His separation, Jesus cried out in anguish: “Why?”
His cry rang out from the top of that desolate hill, not because He did not know the answer, rather because the shock of being alone was so severe, His soul reacted much like we would when lost and completely alone. Initially the pain of aloneness is too glaring and sharp to enable us to express more complex thoughts and emotions. The bleak condition of our soul’s bareness leaves us nothing to cling to except the basic knowledge that this singleness should not be so—thus the almost childlike wail, “Why?!”
The answer to Jesus’ question (and ours, if we are honestly alone, (not as a direct result of our sin), has resonated throughout all time: “Because I have something better for you.” That begs another question: What could be better than the Trinity? Nothing. Nothing can improve the Godhead—certainly not a fallen creature such as myself. Yet, our loving Savior immersed in glorious relationship abandoned that eternal union for me—for you. Because we could not save ourselves. Because God loved us and wanted us to be with Him. He was willing to endure separation and sin (who knew neither) to redeem His creation—so He could save us from our utter and eternal loneliness. So He could enjoy communion with us forever. Delight in that: forever together!
Today, dear sister, hear Jesus’ cry echo through the ages. He knows loneliness. When you weep bitter tears of solitude, you can know that He intimately identifies with your suffering. Though all others may desert you, your soul can rest in everlasting peace and contentment because of Jesus’ willing embrace of loneliness for your sake. That never-ending union is the ultimate victory.
“Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
–Psalm 73:25-26
Running with you,
Rebecca