The cry from the cross echoes down through the ages,
‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
It is an amazing cry for
it is a genuine cry.
You had to ask,
you were willing to need to ask,
so I’d never need to.
‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
That’s the thing.
You haven’t.
And you never will.
Even when I feel you have.
Why do I forget.
Forget to remember you’re here.
‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
That’s the thing.
You haven’t.
Oh, present Father,
help me catch hold of that echo.
Its love,
its genuineness,
and, in doing so, realise that
I’m not forsaken.
Jesus was.
You love me that much.
‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
The strength of every echo is its source.
Reminding me I’m not abandoned.
Ever.
Help me to listen to your echo.
All it means,
all it stands for.
Enable me to let it resound into my life and days.
May I never let your echo fade.
‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
(You haven’t.)
Lord Jesus
Thank you for enduring the cross,
because of the joy you saw before you.
Thank you for considering joy greater than pain.
Even the pain of being separated from your Father.
He turned his face away from you.
A dark I never need to know.
I can’t even begin to fathom such love.
Amen