Disciplines From the Cross: A Holy Week DevotionalSample

Fellowship

Today we focus on these painful words that the Lord Jesus cries out to God the Father: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Can you imagine the agony? Can you imagine that moment? Can you imagine the Son of God saying to God the Father, "Why have you forsaken me?" Here is where we get to the suffering and the loneliness that Christ endured. For the first time, that fellowship had been broken between God the Father and God the Son. There had been a rift between them. The reason for that rift, that broken fellowship, is us; it is our sin. Nothing had ever come between them, and now it has. What was God’s solution to this? He put our sin on Jesus so that He was made abhorrent to the Father. This is what Jesus dreaded; this resorted to him praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking God if there was a way to get around that, if there was any way to let this cup pass from him, because he did not want to be separated from the Father—the one who loved the Father eternally. His relationship was broken for the one who didn't love the Father even temporarily... (that’s us).

That level of fellowship with the Father is foreign to us, but Christ was experiencing the worst part of his suffering, and out of that pain and passion come these words: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” By taking our sin on himself, he took our penalty too, which was death. All this was done so that we could be brought back to the Father.

Jesus is not questioning God here. Rather, he is identifying with humans. These are the very words the Psalmist used to cry out in Psalm 22. It is about a man who longs for fellowship with God and the angst and pain he feels when that fellowship is broken.

What is the discipline that we can take from this? What habit can be implemented to ensure we grow in our spiritual walk with the Lord? Solitude. The antidote to suffering and hard times is to retreat from the hustle of daily life and to seek silence and solitude with Christ. Do you go through seasons of severe pain, severe hard times? The antidote to that is to retreat, to get away, to disappear from the hustle of daily life, and to seek silence and solitude with Christ. Why? Because he is the one who has been there. He's hung on the cross all alone. He's been to the loneliest place, far from God the Father, far from family. He’s the one who's been there and knows the worst of it. So, his Spirit will counsel us way better than any indulgence, any inspiration, or any distraction ever can. He is the one who has the strength to do it alone. He both identifies with and understands what we are experiencing and what we need in the moment.

This sort of strength from fellowship with Christ will only be experienced if we intentionally set aside time to be with Him. It’s not just in difficult times, but each and every day, we set aside time to seek Him and His will for our lives. Let's make a habit of doing that: silence and solitude, a discipline we all desperately need in this day and age. “Come away with me,” Christ said. “Come away with me.” Because He has the words of life. He has the words of hope. He has the words of Eternity. He is the Living Word. Meditate on these words; think of ways you can spend time with Him, shut off all distractions, and experience this truest form of fellowship.

Prayer

Our Father, we thank you that you suffered the agony and the separation from God for us so that we could be brought back into a relationship with Him. We are eternally grateful for what you endured on our behalf. Lord, I pray that you give me a taste of what it means to truly be in fellowship with you and help me prioritize this silence and solitude with you. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.