“My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
When Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), He gave voice to the deepest human anguish. Those words have echoed through centuries, resonating with every broken heart that has felt abandoned by God in a moment of suffering.
I know this cry personally. When I was thirty years old, married but without children, I lost my father—a man I considered a saint. He was everything a father should be: loving, faithful, and kind. After a sudden stroke, he lingered on life support for thirteen long days. We had a glimpse of hope when he was transferred to rehab, but within a day he collapsed again and was rushed to the ICU.
I will never forget standing at his bedside. His chest rose and fell in violent, desperate attempts to breathe. The terror in his eyes as we locked gazes still haunts me. I was crushed. I slipped away to a tiny chapel in the hospital and fell to my knees, begging God for a miracle.
For nearly two weeks I had prayed for his earthly salvation—for healing, for recovery, for more time with the father I adored. But in that sacred moment, God shattered my expectations and shifted my prayer. A word was whispered into my heart: salvation. Suddenly I understood. My father didn’t need to be saved for a few more years here—he needed eternal salvation, the healing that never fades.
I returned to his side and leaned close to his ear. With nurses bustling around, I whispered, “Dad, Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Go with Him. We’ll be fine. It’s okay to go.” Within twenty-four hours, he slipped into eternity.
That moment changed me forever. God showed me that this life—with its joys and sorrows, its reunions and partings—is not the end goal. Earthly healing is temporary, but eternal salvation is permanent. My father’s passing became my awakening: salvation is not about clinging to what we have here, but about being reunited with the Creator for eternity.
When God Feels Silent
There are seasons when God feels absent, when tragedy doesn’t make sense, and when our prayers seem unanswered. But Christ’s cry on the cross reminds us we are not alone in that feeling. And His resurrection reminds us that God’s silence was not abandonment, but preparation for victory.
The Eternal Goal
Our troubles shape us. They break us open to see God more clearly. And even when we do not know the rhyme or reason, we can trust that the story is larger than our pain. The cross led to the empty tomb. Our grief points us toward eternity.
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
—Revelation 21:4
Closing Prayer:
Father, when I walk through grief and when the weight of life feels unbearable, remind me that You are still near. Thank You for the gift of salvation that goes beyond this temporary life. Help me to trust not just in healing here on earth, but in the eternal promise of life with You. May my heart always rest in the hope of resurrection. Amen.
