Feeling Forsaken?

The psalmist must have felt abandoned with the cry: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

These words or something similar must be in the thoughts and on the lips of those who have lost children in the school shootings over the recent years, who have been affected by ethnic cleansing, who have lost homes and loved ones to flooding, hurricanes, fire, and those who have received a life shattering diagnosis, been let down by loved ones, or maybe even as a result of decisions they have made themselves. There are times in life when we wonder if God has forsaken us, or at least it feels like it.

So often in life, we can manage through our days, numbed by our efforts to block the feelings of anguish, betrayal and suffering, because our world, while it doesn’t hide the disasters when we turn on the news, it does not have many places where it’s okay to talk about, cry and feel the grief in our life.

We need times and places for this. Life cannot be and is not positive all of the time. At times when we feel forsaken, we need help from God and those around us to move us into the future.

Holy God, remind us that you are with us even when it doesn't feel like it. Amen. — HRW