Are We Forsaken?

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1
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?" Matthew 27:46

On a previous Visitor article I wrote about feeling like God just wasn’t paying attention at times. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt so bad about something in your life that you wondered if God was noticing much less helping or doing anything at all? If you have, you know that it’s not a good place to be; if you haven’t, you need to understand that this is very painful. What I had been speaking about was a devotion I heard from Pastor Michael Katt (from the Georgia church who produced "Facing the Giants"). He said that sometimes we wonder if God is even paying attention; if He really understands the pain we are feeling or the desperate situation we find ourselves in. Can you relate to that? Have you, in so many words, asked God, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
The answer to that question is "He hasn’t!" David cried out to God those very words, yet we know David to be a man of faith who knew God was with him. Jesus cried out those words on the cross, yet we know that He knew better; after all, He was God. But there’s a part of us that sometimes doubts what’s going on; it’s not necessarily sin to doubt something, it’s just the humanity inside of us that raises questions and we have to deal with them. Jesus didn’t sin when He wondered why God had forsaken Him; He didn’t sin when in the garden He asked for the cup to be taken from Him. But Jesus also became flesh, became a man in order that He might save humanity. And the "human" side of Him was afraid and having "trouble" dealing with the situation. But He never for once believed God had really forsaken Him; He knew God, He knew His Father, He knew God wouldn’t do that.
We know God. We read about Him and study Him and sing songs of praise & worship to Him. We know what He’s done in our lives; in the lives of others. We know He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We know that He knows us intimately and loves us more than we can understand. We know God wouldn’t forsake us.
When we face difficulties in our lives we also face our own desires, impatience, and lack of faith. Those are the human side of who we are crying out in fear. We want things to change now and we want them to be what we want them to be. Jesus didn’t sin when He said those words and He didn’t sin after He said those words. He stayed the course and kept His faith and believed in His Father. That’s what we are to do as well; to stay the course, keep the faith, and believe/trust in our heavenly Father. He says to us, "Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).