The Crucifixion: When Purpose Feels Like God’s Abandonment
…in true God fashion, He’s got an answer for that.
Consider the crucifixion of Jesus. We know that the major purpose of Jesus being sent to Earth, was to bring salvation to God’s people. Part of that plan, was to go through the gruesomeness of calvary. On the day of His crucifixion, part of Matthew 26:45 says that “at noon, darkness fell across the whole land.” While darkness filled the sky at what was typically the lightest time of the day, Jesus screamed out “My God, My God…why has thou forsaken me?”
Here, Jesus is at the height of His purpose….at the height of doing EXACTLY what He was sent to do and He feels abandoned, deserted, and forgotten.
I’ve been there before….feeling like I’m doing all the “right" things…doing what He called me to do, but still fighting feelings of abandonment…feelings of separation from all that is good.
What’s interesting about Jesus feeling abandoned…is that the "feeling" was more than just a "feeling." It was actually His reality.
Isaiah 59:2 lets us know that sin cuts us off from God. From this scripture (and many others starting in Genesis with Adam and Eve), we see that sin separates us from God’s presence. Isaiah 53:6 lets us know that the Lord laid all of our sins on Jesus. So, as a result…there was an actual separation between God’s presence and Jesus. I can imagine that that separation can create feelings of abandonment…especially in someone who knew no sin. I’m sure someone in that predicament would feel forsaken.
I always like to remind myself that feelings are not always indicative of the truth or the reality of a situation, but here that darkness in the sky was much more than a cloud covering the sun.….Jesus’ feelings were warranted. He felt separated from God’s presence because He actually was separated from God’s presence.
…but that’s one of the benefits of Jesus being a perfect sacrificial lamb.
Jesus experienced the darkness of separation from God’s presence so that we don’t have to.
We have that promise in Romans 8 that NOTHING will separate us from the love of God. So, even when we “feel" forsaken we can tell ourselves that because of Jesus, we won’t ever be separated….even when we feel like it.
Jesus took on so much just for us to be back in communion with God.
He literally allowed himself to both be and feel forsaken, just so we would never be forsaken and so he could relate to us when we feel forsaken.
It reminds me of the scripture that tells us that we don’t have a savior who isn’t touched by our infirmities. He can relate to our exact “feelings” because he felt our exact feelings.
…and because he dealt with feelings of abandonment and desertion, He gave us a blueprint on how to deal with that kind of darkness.
How did Jesus respond to feelings of abandonment while doing the “right" thing?
He just kept doing what God told Him to do.
That’s not a very sensational response, but that’s what He did.
Even when He felt abandoned, He didn’t abandon the plan. He didn’t abort the mission….He stayed on the cross until His duties were finished.
He found the strength to keep going until the end.
Hebrews 12:2 says He disregarded the shame and endured the cross because of the joy that was yet to come.
In those moments where you’re doing the will of God, but the feelings of being abandoned and deserted from God are ever-increasing, remind yourself that not only does Jesus KNOW what you're feeling…but because He actually experienced separation from God’s presence, God will NEVER abandon or desert those of us in Christ Jesus…. AND because He finished His purpose through that very dark feeling, You can finish yours, too.
Remember we can do allllll things through Christ who strengthens us….and yes, that includes enduring all the hard things.
You got this!
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