good friday

And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" ~ Mark 15:34

I remember seeing a bumper sticker that said, "If God seems distant guess who moved!" The insinuation was that we've somehow moved away from God if we're not sensing his presence.

But is that really the full biblical picture?

As Jesus died on the cross he cried out with the words of Psalm 22:1, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Does this mean that God was literally forsaking -- turning his back -- on his Son, or was it that Jesus was experiencing the moment as such? I'll let the scholars debate that one. But I know that there are times in my own life when God seems distant -- that I'm not really hearing much from him -- or feeling too close to him.

Is it because my devotional life is weak or that I'm not reading the Bible enough? Not necessarily. The fact is that there are times when even though we're doing the very things God has called us to do -- times when we're in the middle of it -- as Jesus was, that we're still crying out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Even when we're trusting the Lord and faithfully walking forward, there are days when God feels distant. There are "Good Fridays" when we can't enthusiastically proclaim "TGIF!"

Prophets, psalmists, disciples, saints, and even Jesus the Messiah had such days. And that's okay.

You see, Friday is always only a day away from Sunday.

~ Brad Boydston