[Thursday's Devotional] - Whatever You Feel

"At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  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?").  When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."

Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"."
Mark 15:33-39 [NIV]

Jesus' cry to God on the cross marks a place of utter desolation, and the Father doesn't answer him.

Even in the silence, however, God is there.

You will not face such an extreme experience, but will you choose to trust him even when you don't feel God close to you?

This isn't easy, but there are many who have lived this life of faith – in the Bible, in Christian history and all around us.

Tim Norman