Forsaken

I was listening to a preacher last night who I think opened my eyes to some things that I really needed to focus on and start thinking about.  I am always thankful to hear truth being preached.  Some of what he said were affirmations of things I have said over the years.  This morning what I am going to talk about has some thing to do with what I was hearing last night.  This man’s talk did get me thinking more clearly about what is going on in many churches and in the world.  This word wasn’t mentioned last night but he no doubt helped influence my way of thinking.  I was thinking about the word forsaken this morning. This word has to do with one of the worst things that can happen to a believer!! Probably there are many believers that have either said this or thought this over the years and it has devastated them and if this did happen it would be the worst thing a believer could experience. I was thinking about what Jesus said when He hung, dying on the cross.  Read what He said in Matthew 27:46, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”

This was the worst thing that Jesus could ever experience and it was the reason He was in such anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He knew that He would be the sacrificial Lamb that would take the sins of the world on His shoulders and God the Father would have to turn His back on the sins.  With the beatings and humiliation and the lashes from the whipping and the mocking and all the intense suffering and the loss of blood and the intense fatigue He felt and His very life draining from His body, it is no wonder He said what He said!!  But the worst thing that happened was the spiritual separation He experienced from God!!  Praise the Lord He never sinned, but sin always separates us from God and it will cause any true born-again believer to feel miserable and can cause them to feel like God has forsaken them.  Anyone that claims to be a godly man or woman, and a true believer, but has no remorse when they sin, had better examine themselves to see if they are in the faith.  

King David comes to mind, he was a godly man we can read about in the Old Testament.  Read what he said about the way he felt when he committed sin and didn’t confess and repent of it for almost a year, in Psalms 32:1-4:

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah”

This is a sequel to Psalms 51 if you would like to read it.  

King David was miserable because of his sins.  When we sin and refuse to repent and confess, we will also be miserable and we may feel that God has forsaken us but, if the truth be known, sin separates us from God and it is we that have forsaken Him!!

What did David say after he repented?  Read Psalms 32:5-11:

“I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You

In a time when You may be found;

Surely in a flood of great waters

They shall not come near him.

You are my hiding place;

You shall preserve me from trouble;

You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will guide you with My eye.

Do not be like the horse or like the mule,

Which have no understanding,

Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,

Else they will not come near you.

Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;

But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;

And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”

God seeks the humble and contrite heart, this He will not despise.  Now think about Judas Iscariot and Peter in the New Testament.  Judas betrayed the Lord and instead of truly repenting, went out and hung himself, but Peter, even though he denied the Lord three times, wept bitterly and repented and found forgiveness and restoration.  Did you notice when Peter sinned against the Lord it broke his heart and the shame he felt was overwhelming.  Read what it says about this in Mark 14:72, “A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.’ And when he thought about it, he wept.”

Now read what the angel said to Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James and Salome, in Mark 16:6-7, “But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.’”

Did you notice the angel made a special mention of Peter?  Repentance brings forgiveness and restoration and this shows that Jesus had not forsaken Peter.  If you hide sin in your heart and will not confess it, God will not hear your prayers and you will be miserable and devastated.  But there is hope, read what 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

So no matter what someone may tell you, you will not prosper and be blessed and have God’s peace, love and joy unless you repent and turn from your sins!!  Something to think about and if you are guilty and have not done anything about it, act on it!  Have a great day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!