Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2010.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalm 22:1
We here behold the Savior in the depth of sorrow. Nowhere else bears witness to the griefs of Christ as forcefully as Calvary, and no other moment at Calvary is as full of agony as when His anguished cry splits the air: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
At this moment physical weakness united with acute mental torture from the shame and disgrace through which He had to pass. He suffered spiritual agony surpassing all expression, resulting from the departure of His Father’s presence. This was the darkest night of His horror. Then He descended the abyss of suffering. No man can comprehend the full meaning of these words.
Sometimes we ourselves might want to cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” There are seasons when the brightness of our Father’s smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness. But we must remember that God never really forsakes us. It is seems as though we are forsaken, but in Christ’s case He actually was.
We grieve as we perceive a little withdrawal of our Father’s love. But the real turning away of God’s face from His Son, who can calculate how deep the agony which it caused Him?
In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief. In His case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from Him for a season.
For all you who are distressed, who once lived in the sunshine of God’s face, but are now eclipsed for a time in darkness, remember that He has not actually forsaken you. God in the clouds is as much our God as when He shines forth in all the light of His grace. But since even the thought that He has forsaken us gives us agony, what must the woe of the Savior have been when He exclaimed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Question: When someone is going through a time when they feel forsaken, how can we comfort them with God’s love?
You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughtsaboutgod.com/blog/2010/06/24/cs_agony-of-the-savior/
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