City Life Starter

The Word: Psalm 143:3-4

“For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground;

he has made me dwell in darkness, like those who have long been dead.

Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is distressed.”

Mark 15:34 “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”

Reflection Questions

1. Do you know what you are currently feeling in your suffering?
2. Are you willing to vent these emotions to God right now? He desperately wants to hear you.
3. Are you willing to let Him speak to you? He also desperately wants to speak to you.

By Heather Mattingly

We serve a compassionate, gentle Lord who knows what you’re going through. He is not sitting high on a throne “somewhere,” but left that throne, walked this earth, and was tempted as we are tempted, all to be close to you. To save you. And while dying on the cross, He uttered the word “good Christians” are not supposed to utter to God:

“Why?”

It is the “why” of desolation – Jesus, the Son of God, knowing His Father’s will, still uttered these desolate words while dying on the cross: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34). He bore the full weight of our sin, and suffered abandonment from God – Jesus cried out these words in a loud voice in His native tongue of Aramaic. Did you ever wonder why His cry is recorded in His original language of Aramaic rather than just in the transliterated Greek, like the rest of the New Testament? Could it be because it is the cry of each and every one of our hearts within our suffering: the cry of a lost/abandoned child crying out for a parent? A parent knows his/her child’s cry, no matter what the words are, or what language they are in. God is your good Father, and He does hear you. (Psalm 18:6)

It’s alright to cry out to God in our emotions and ask why, but then are we willing to let Him move us past this question? He might answer it, but what if He doesn’t? Will we abandon Him? If we do, did we ever really love Him in the first place?

How did David let the Lord move him past this question? The Bible says in Psalm 143:9-10, “Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; in You I take shelter..Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.” David made up his mind to give his will over to God, despite his feelings, despite his circumstances, and without any guarantee of the outcome.

And how did our Lord Jesus move past this question? The Bible says Jesus said, “..‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last.” (Luke 23:46). Jesus made up His mind to give His will over to His Father, without any guarantee of the outcome.

And now, on this side of the Story, we know the Truth: that the grave is empty. Jesus is risen! God is good! Despite the suffering and the pain we see and feel daily, we cling to this historical fact, this Truth: the grave is empty. Jesus is alive!

As I’m writing this, I’m feeling totally inadequate writing on such an awesomely terrifying topic such as suffering. We’re all going through suffering, and this is a suffering and dying world we live in: Douglas High School in Florida, poverty, hunger, war, murder, theft, sex trafficking….the list is seemingly endless. Suffering is a daily, often an hourly, struggle. I don’t know the answers. But I do know Who does. And I do know that He gives grace for the next step, and the next step is all we need to take.

Prayer

“Father, I don’t know why I’m going through ______________, and I’m feeling very, very _____________. But I desperately want to love You for who You are, and not for what You give me. I want to be found faithful by You. Please help me; I trust you with my broken heart. Please show me what You want me to do.”

“The God who created, names, and numbers the stars in the heavens — also numbers the hairs of my head. He pays attention to very big things — and to very small ones. What matters to me matters to Him, and that changes my life.”

-Elisabeth Eliott