God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” [Hebrews 13:5 NCV]
On the cross Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Perhaps this was the most human thing that he ever said? His emotion was raw. In his heart he knew that God was with him but in the extreme pain of a torturous cross he 'felt' abandoned. In that I take much comfort.
We all know, in our heads anyway, that God is with us in the most awful times of our lives. Yet we often do not sense his presence with us in our pain. Our prayers go unanswered and a feeling of raw abandonment encompasses us. Some do not spiritually survive the experience.
In my own life an inner faith, a knowing in my heart, has helped me to persevere in hard times. Jesus had such a knowing. He experienced a divine presence within his inner being when his outer senses were on fire with pain. Because of this he persevered through feelings of abandonment.
Lord, teach us to look for your presence within when we feel abandoned.
... this devotion is part of a series from the book of Hebrews.
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