04/12/2019
Are you filled with sadness and depression today? In particular, is there a void within you because of a feeling of separation from God? There is no loneliness greater than to be in a place without God’s presence, but if that is your feeling today then take heart, and call on the name of Jesus because He too walked through the valley of the shadow of death... just as you are now doing.
“...my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;”
Psalms 22:14 ESV
In this, the Easter season, I prod myself to read Psalm 22 in its entirety. I do this to bring the suffering of our Lord Jesus to the boiling forefront of my consciousness. Jesus quoted this Psalm from the cross as He pointed to the long-standing prophesy of His suffering, and it begins in great despair; the kind of despair that is found only in that place where one feels abandoned by God... spiritually alone.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?”
Psalms 22:1 ESV
So I ask you again if you are filled with sadness and depression today because of a sense of being separated from God, and I tell you to take heart because our Savior Jesus Christ traveled this same way. We find confirmation of His sorrow in Matthew as he recalls the words of Jesus... listen:
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"”
Matthew 27:46 ESV
There is no suffering greater than the feeling of loneliness and the depression that accompanies it; this is the pinnacle of that agony when our separation is from God Himself. We can be physically alone in the world, and abandoned by our friends and family, but the true suffering comes from a place deep within ourselves that is far more potent than simply being physically by ourselves... it is a spiritual drought... a loss that tramples our spirit, and brings hopelessness to our very soul. This is indeed our valley of the shadow of death.
“A deep depression of spirit is the most grievous of all trials ; others are nothing.” - Charles Spurgeon
Yet, we can take heart because just as our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, walked this way and found the face of God awaiting Him... so will we. Our sense of being alone is a spiritual feeling, and God has not abandoned us. The darkness of that moment which seems to be death itself is just a shadow, and we can take heart in the fact that no true believer finds His way to the Father without passing this way at some point in his journey of faith. God hears our cries; even in His silence...
“For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.”
Psalms 22:24 ESV
When we are standing in the shadow of this spiritual death we can take heart. When the silence of God is so intense that it deafens our soul, He is with us. As we journey through this valley, a place that all God’s faithful must traverse at some point as they pilgrimage towards eternity with Him... we are never alone. Our assurance comes from the example we have in Jesus.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalms 23:4 ESV
This is a place where Satan challenges and tempts us. This is a place where our faith is shaken by he who is in the earth, but even here God is with us, and if we keep walking the shadow will eventually lift, and we will see once again that He was beside us all the while.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for walking with me through those times when I am tempted to believe I am alone. Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who teaches me that even in my darkest hour of faith you are there. I thank you for those quiet times when I call out and yet you walk silently on beside me. My faith in those moments is tempered as if held in the roaring fire of your silence, and then, upon hearing your voice again, is doused in the cool water of your presence... hardened beyond my wildest hope, and prepared to withstand great temptation without shattering. Holy, Holy, Holy, are your my God who strengthens my faith by His silence, and yet never abandons me. Great are you whose Son Jesus was made to pass this way as my guide and promise. I praise you Lord for the shadow that you allow to fall over my spirit, and your constant presence as I endure it. All glory is yours Father as I step once again into your light... shining bright as the midday sun.
“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.”
Philippians 4:12-14 ESV
Rich Forbes