"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" These agonizing words, uttered by Jesus Christ from the cross, echo through the centuries as perhaps the most profound expression of human suffering ever spoken. Recorded in both Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, this cry pierces the heart of every believer who has ever felt abandoned, alone, or overwhelmed by life's trials. Yet within this moment of seeming despair lies the greatest demonstration of God's love and the deepest source of comfort for all who suffer.

When we face our darkest hours—when circumstances crush us, when prayers seem unanswered, when God feels distant—we may find ourselves echoing Jesus's question. But understanding the profound theological significance of this cry, and recognizing how it fulfills ancient prophecy while accomplishing our salvation, transforms our perspective on suffering. Jesus did not cry out in defeat, but in the very act of bearing our sins and experiencing separation from the Father so that we would never have to.

The Biblical Context of Jesus's Cry on the Cross

To fully grasp the significance of Jesus's words "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" we must first understand the context in which they were spoken. These words were not spontaneous expressions of despair, but the fulfillment of messianic prophecy written a thousand years before in Psalm 22:1: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?"

Jesus spoke these words after enduring six hours of crucifixion—three hours in daylight, followed by three hours of supernatural darkness that covered the land. The Gospel of Matthew records: "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour" (Matthew 27:45, KJV). It was at the conclusion of this darkness, at approximately 3:00 PM, that Jesus cried out with a loud voice in Aramaic, the language of the Jewish people.

The physical suffering Jesus endured was beyond comprehension. Crucifixion was designed by the Romans as the most brutal form of execution—a slow, agonizing death by asphyxiation. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this suffering: "As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men" (Isaiah 52:14, KJV). Jesus had been beaten, scourged with a Roman flagrum that tore flesh from bone, crowned with thorns that pierced His skull, and nailed through His wrists and feet to a wooden cross.

Yet the physical torment, as excruciating as it was, paled in comparison to the spiritual anguish Jesus experienced in those dark hours. The Apostle Paul explains: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21, KJV). In that moment, Jesus—the spotless Lamb of God who knew no sin—became sin itself, bearing the full weight of humanity's rebellion against God.

The Gospel accounts reveal the intensity of Jesus's suffering in those final hours. He had already prayed in Gethsemane with such agony that "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44, KJV). He had been betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, and abandoned by His disciples. Now, in the culminating moment of His passion, He experienced something infinitely worse: separation from His Father.

This separation was not physical but spiritual—a breaking of the eternal fellowship between Father and Son that had existed from before the foundation of the world. As Jesus bore our sins, the holy God who "cannot look on iniquity" (Habakkuk 1:13, KJV) turned away. The darkness that covered the land was an outward manifestation of this spiritual reality. Jesus, who had always enjoyed perfect communion with the Father, now experienced the full horror of separation from God that our sins deserved.

The prophet Isaiah had foretold this moment: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6, KJV). In crying out "Why hast thou forsaken me?" Jesus was not questioning God's plan or losing faith. Rather, He was experiencing the full reality of God's judgment against sin—a judgment that should have fallen on us.

This cry also reveals Jesus's humanity. Though fully God, Jesus was also fully human, and in His humanity He felt the devastating weight of separation from the Father. Hebrews tells us: "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15, KJV). Jesus experienced the depths of human suffering so that He could perfectly sympathize with us in our struggles.

Psalm 22 - The Prophetic Blueprint of Christ's Suffering

When Jesus quoted the opening verse of Psalm 22 from the cross, He was not merely expressing personal anguish—He was directing His disciples and all future believers to study this remarkable prophetic psalm in its entirety. Written by King David around 1,000 BC, Psalm 22 provides an astonishingly detailed preview of the Messiah's crucifixion, describing events and emotions that would unfold on Calvary with supernatural precision.

The psalm begins with the very words Jesus spoke: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent" (Psalm 22:1-2, KJV). This describes the intense spiritual agony Jesus experienced—crying out to the Father yet receiving no immediate answer, feeling abandoned in His moment of greatest need.

David continues: "But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him" (Psalm 22:6-8, KJV). This precisely mirrors what happened at the crucifixion. Matthew records: "And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads... He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God" (Matthew 27:39, 43, KJV).

The physical details of crucifixion are vividly portrayed: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death" (Psalm 22:14-15, KJV). This describes the excruciating physical suffering of crucifixion—the dislocation of joints from the body's weight pulling on the nails, the extreme dehydration, the exhaustion of strength, the inability to breathe properly.

Verse 16 continues with stunning accuracy: "For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet" (Psalm 22:16, KJV). The term "dogs" was how Jews referred to Gentiles—and it was indeed the Roman Gentiles who crucified Jesus, piercing His hands and feet with iron spikes. This detail, written a millennium before Christ, describes a method of execution that didn't even exist when David penned these words.

The psalm continues: "I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture" (Psalm 22:17-18, KJV). John's Gospel records the literal fulfillment: "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots" (John 19:23-24, KJV).

But Psalm 22 doesn't end in death and despair. The latter half of the psalm shifts dramatically to triumph and vindication: "For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard" (Psalm 22:24, KJV). Though Jesus felt forsaken in the moment of bearing sin, the Father had not ultimately abandoned Him. The resurrection would prove that God heard His cry and accepted His sacrifice.

The psalm concludes with prophetic declarations of the Messiah's ultimate victory: "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations... A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this" (Psalm 22:27-28, 30-31, KJV).

When Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1, He was inviting all who heard to remember the entire psalm—not just the opening cry of anguish, but also the triumphant conclusion. He was declaring that everything prophesied about the Messiah's suffering and glory was being fulfilled before their eyes. The question "Why have you forsaken me?" was not the end of the story, but the darkest moment before the dawn of resurrection victory.

The Theological Meaning of Christ Bearing Our Sin

To understand why the Father had to forsake the Son, we must grasp the theological reality of what was happening on the cross. Jesus was not merely dying as a martyr or innocent victim—He was serving as our substitute, bearing the punishment we deserved for our sins. This is the doctrine known as penal substitutionary atonement, and it lies at the very heart of the gospel.

From the moment of the fall in Eden, humanity stood condemned under God's righteous judgment. The Apostle Paul explains: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12, KJV). Every human being born after Adam inherited a sin nature and stood guilty before a holy God. As Paul writes elsewhere: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, KJV).

The consequence of sin is severe. Scripture declares: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4, KJV), and "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23, KJV). This death is not merely physical but spiritual—eternal separation from God in the place the Bible calls hell. Jesus Himself spoke more about hell than anyone else in Scripture, warning: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28, KJV).

God's holiness demands that sin be punished. He cannot simply overlook or dismiss our rebellion against Him. The prophet Habakkuk declares: "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" (Habakkuk 1:13, KJV). God's justice requires satisfaction—someone must pay the penalty for sin. Yet in His mercy and love, God provided a way for justice to be satisfied while also extending forgiveness to sinners.

The solution was substitution. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, would take our place and bear the punishment we deserved. Isaiah prophesied: "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5, KJV).

Peter explains this substitution clearly: "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls" (1 Peter 2:24-25, KJV). Jesus literally bore our sins in His body. When He hung on the cross, He wasn't carrying His own guilt—He had none. He was carrying ours.

This is why Paul could write: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21, KJV). In a profound exchange, Jesus became what we are (sinful) so that we might become what He is (righteous). Our sins were imputed—legally credited—to Christ, and His righteousness was imputed to all who believe in Him.

Understanding this exchange helps us grasp why the Father had to forsake the Son. When Jesus bore our sins, He became the object of God's wrath against sin. The cup that Jesus prayed might pass from Him in Gethsemane was not merely the cup of physical suffering, but the cup of God's wrath. Isaiah writes: "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin" (Isaiah 53:10, KJV).

The Father poured out upon the Son the full measure of His righteous wrath against sin—wrath that should have fallen on us. This is what Jesus experienced during those three hours of darkness. He was drinking the cup of God's judgment to its dregs. As He hung there, loaded with the sins of the world, the Father turned His face away. The eternal fellowship between Father and Son was broken so that our fellowship with God could be restored.

Paul describes the magnitude of what Christ accomplished: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Galatians 3:13, KJV). Jesus became a curse for us, bearing the full penalty that the law demanded. He satisfied God's justice completely, paying the debt of sin in full. When Jesus later cried "It is finished" (John 19:30, KJV), He was declaring that the work of redemption was complete—the price was paid, the debt was cancelled, the wrath was exhausted.

This is why Jesus's cry "Why have you forsaken me?" is actually good news for believers. It means that we will never be forsaken. Jesus experienced that separation so that we never have to. He drank the cup of wrath so that we could drink the cup of salvation. He was abandoned so that we could be adopted. As Paul triumphantly declares: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1, KJV).

Understanding God's Presence in Our Suffering

One of the most challenging aspects of the Christian life is reconciling the promise of God's presence with the experience of feeling abandoned during suffering. When we face trials, loss, or overwhelming circumstances, we may cry out like Jesus: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Yet the testimony of Scripture and the experience of countless believers affirms a profound truth: God is present even when we cannot perceive Him, and He is working even when we cannot see it.

The most powerful promise in all of Scripture regarding God's presence is found in Hebrews 13:5: "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (KJV). The Greek construction of this verse is remarkably emphatic, using a double negative that could be literally translated: "I will never, never, never, never, never leave you or forsake you." This is God's unbreakable covenant promise to all who belong to Christ.

David understood this reality even in his darkest moments. In the same psalm that prophetically described Christ's suffering, he also wrote from his own experience: "For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard" (Psalm 22:24, KJV). Though we may feel that God has hidden His face, the reality is that He hears our cries and has not abandoned us.

The paradox of suffering is that God is often most intimately present when He feels most absent. James Russell Lowell wrote: "Behind the dim unknown, standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own." When circumstances overwhelm us and prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling, God is not distant—He is at work in ways we cannot yet perceive.

Consider Joseph, who was betrayed by his brothers, falsely accused of rape, and imprisoned for years. Throughout these trials, the repeated refrain in Genesis is this: "But the LORD was with Joseph" (Genesis 39:2, 21, 23, KJV). Joseph didn't always feel God's presence, especially during those lonely years in prison. Yet God was orchestrating events to position Joseph to save nations from famine. Years later, Joseph could tell his brothers: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20, KJV).

Paul teaches us a crucial principle: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28, KJV). Notice that Paul doesn't say all things ARE good—suffering, loss, and pain are not good in themselves. Rather, he says God WORKS all things together for good. Like a master chef combining bitter and sweet ingredients to create something delicious, God takes the bitter experiences of life and works them into His good purposes.

This doesn't mean we should minimize suffering or pretend that pain doesn't hurt. Jesus wept at Lazarus's tomb even though He knew He would raise him from the dead (John 11:35). We are not called to deny our emotions or put on a fake smile. Rather, we are called to anchor our hope in the character and promises of God even when circumstances seem to contradict them.

Isaiah gives us this beautiful promise: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour" (Isaiah 43:2-3, KJV). Notice that God doesn't promise to keep us FROM the waters or fire—He promises to be WITH us IN them.

The testimony of believers throughout history confirms this reality. Corrie ten Boom, who survived the Nazi concentration camps where her sister Betsie died, wrote: "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." She experienced God's presence in Ravensbrück in ways she never had in freedom. Similarly, the hymn writer Horatio Spafford, after losing his four daughters in a shipwreck, could write: "When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul."

Understanding God's presence in suffering requires faith—not sight. Paul writes: "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7, KJV). When what we see contradicts what God has promised, we must choose to believe God's Word over our circumstances. This is precisely what Job did when he declared: "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15, KJV).

Moreover, we must remember that our ultimate hope is not in this life but in the life to come. Paul reminds us: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18, KJV). Our present afflictions are temporary; our future glory is eternal. One day, God "shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4, KJV).

Finding Comfort in Christ Who Understands Our Pain

One of the most profound comforts available to believers is knowing that we serve a Savior who personally understands suffering. Jesus is not a distant deity who observes our pain from heaven with detached sympathy. He is Immanuel—God with us—who entered our world, took on human flesh, and experienced the full range of human suffering. Because of this, He can truly sympathize with our weaknesses and comfort us in our trials.

The book of Hebrews emphasizes this reality: "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15-16, KJV). Jesus can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities because He experienced them Himself.

Consider what Jesus endured during His earthly life. He knew poverty, being born in a stable and having "not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20, KJV). He experienced rejection, as Isaiah prophesied: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3, KJV). His own hometown tried to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:29). Religious leaders constantly opposed Him, plotting His death. One of His closest disciples betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver.

Jesus knew the pain of broken relationships. Peter, His most outspoken disciple, denied even knowing Him three times. All His disciples abandoned Him in His hour of greatest need. He experienced the grief of losing loved ones—He wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus. He endured false accusations, unjust trials, and brutal physical torture. He was beaten beyond recognition, as Isaiah prophesied: "his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men" (Isaiah 52:14, KJV).

But the greatest suffering Jesus endured was spiritual, not physical. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed with such agony that "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44, KJV). This rare medical condition called hematidrosis occurs under extreme emotional distress. Jesus was contemplating the cup He was about to drink—not merely physical death, but bearing the sins of the world and experiencing separation from the Father.

On the cross, Jesus experienced the full weight of God's wrath against sin. He who knew no sin became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He experienced the spiritual death—the separation from God—that our sins deserved. This is why He cried out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He tasted the full bitterness of divine abandonment so that we would never have to experience it.

Because Jesus suffered in this way, He can truly comfort us in our suffering. Paul writes: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:3-5, KJV).

When we cry out to God in our pain, we are not speaking to someone who cannot understand. We are speaking to One who has been there. When we feel abandoned, we are praying to One who experienced ultimate abandonment. When we struggle with temptation, we are asking help from One who "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15, KJV). When we face death, we are trusting in One who conquered death.

This reality should give us boldness to approach God in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 says: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (KJV). We don't have to clean ourselves up before coming to God. We don't have to pretend we're strong when we're weak. We can come boldly, honestly, vulnerably—knowing that we approach a throne of grace, not a throne of condemnation.

Moreover, Jesus's suffering gives meaning to our own. Peter writes: "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps" (1 Peter 2:21, KJV). Our suffering is not meaningless or random—it conforms us to the image of Christ. Paul explains: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29, KJV).

When we suffer, we have the privilege of sharing in Christ's sufferings. Paul wrote: "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10, KJV). There is a mysterious fellowship with Christ that comes through suffering—an intimacy with Him that cannot be gained any other way. Many believers testify that they have never known Christ's presence more powerfully than in their darkest hours.

Furthermore, our present sufferings are producing eternal glory. Paul declares: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17, KJV). Notice that Paul calls his tremendous sufferings (beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, stoned) "light affliction" that is "but for a moment." He maintains this perspective because he is comparing them to the eternal glory that awaits.

Practical Steps for Trusting God in Dark Times

While understanding the theological truths about Christ's suffering and God's presence is essential, we also need practical guidance for how to trust God when we're walking through our own dark valleys. How do we hold onto faith when everything in our circumstances screams that God has abandoned us? How do we continue believing when prayers seem unanswered? Here are biblical principles and practical steps that can anchor our souls in the storm.

First, bring your honest emotions to God in prayer. One of the most remarkable aspects of Jesus's cry from the cross is its raw honesty. He didn't mask His anguish or pretend everything was fine. He expressed His genuine feelings: "Why have you forsaken me?" The psalms are filled with similar honest prayers. David wrote: "How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?" (Psalm 13:1, KJV). Job questioned God extensively in his suffering. These examples teach us that God welcomes our honest emotions.

We don't have to clean up our prayers or use religious language that doesn't reflect what we're truly feeling. God already knows our hearts—He invites us to pour them out before Him. The Psalmist writes: "Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is our refuge" (Psalm 62:8, KJV). Pouring out our hearts means bringing our confusion, our doubts, our pain, our anger—everything—to God in prayer.

Paul instructs us: "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7, KJV). Notice that this promise of peace comes when we bring everything to God in prayer—not when we have everything figured out or when circumstances change, but when we honestly communicate with Him.

Second, immerse yourself in God's Word and His promises. When circumstances are unreliable and emotions fluctuate, God's Word remains steadfast. Jesus Himself relied on Scripture during His temptation in the wilderness, responding to Satan with "It is written" (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10, KJV). When we're in dark times, we need to saturate our minds with biblical truth.

Paul writes: "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17, KJV). Faith is strengthened as we read, hear, and meditate on God's Word. David testified: "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11, KJV). When God's Word is hidden in our hearts, it becomes a reservoir we can draw from in times of need.

Make it a practice to memorize specific promises from Scripture. When dark thoughts come, combat them with biblical truth. When you feel abandoned, recall Hebrews 13:5: "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." When you're overwhelmed, remember Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." When you're afraid, claim 2 Timothy 1:7: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Third, maintain fellowship with other believers. Satan loves to isolate suffering believers. When we're hurting, we often want to withdraw from others. But Scripture commands: "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25, KJV). We need the body of Christ especially in our trials.

Paul teaches: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2, KJV). When we're weak, other believers can carry us. James instructs: "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him" (James 5:13-14, KJV). The church is God's primary means of caring for hurting people.

Find mature believers who can pray with you, encourage you from Scripture, and remind you of truth when your emotions tell you lies. Solomon writes: "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, KJV).

Fourth, practice worship and thanksgiving even when you don't feel like it. One of the most powerful weapons against despair is deliberate worship. Paul and Silas demonstrated this in prison—after being beaten and placed in stocks, they prayed and sang hymns to God at midnight (Acts 16:25). Their worship led to supernatural deliverance as God sent an earthquake that freed them.

The command to give thanks is not dependent on circumstances. Paul writes: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV). We're not called to give thanks FOR everything (as if suffering itself is good), but IN everything (recognizing God's presence and purposes even in trials). This shifts our focus from our problems to God's character and faithfulness.

David modeled this practice. Even when pursued by enemies, he could write: "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1, KJV). Habakkuk declared: "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:17-18, KJV).

Fifth, serve others even in your pain. It seems counterintuitive, but one of the most healing things we can do when suffering is to reach out and serve others. Paul writes: "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God" (2 Corinthians 1:4, KJV). Our suffering qualifies us to minister to others going through similar trials.

When we focus outward instead of inward, when we use our pain to help others rather than becoming consumed by it, we find that God uses our trials for His purposes. Joseph told his brothers who had sold him into slavery: "Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life" (Genesis 45:5, KJV). God had used Joseph's suffering to position him to save many lives.

Finally, keep an eternal perspective. Paul reminds us: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, KJV). When we fix our eyes on eternity, our present troubles are put in proper perspective.

Jesus endured the cross by keeping His eyes on the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). Similarly, we can endure our trials by remembering that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18, KJV). One day, all tears will be wiped away, all pain will cease, and we will see clearly how God wove everything together for good and for His glory.

The Hope and Victory That Emerged from the Cross

Jesus's cry "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" was not the end of the story. Though it represents the darkest moment in human history—when the sinless Son of God bore the full weight of divine wrath against sin—it was followed by the brightest dawn: the resurrection. The cross, which seemed like ultimate defeat, was actually God's greatest victory. Understanding this transformation from seeming abandonment to glorious triumph gives us hope in our own dark moments.

Just hours after Jesus cried out in seeming forsakenness, He declared "It is finished" (John 19:30, KJV). The Greek word tetelestai was used in the ancient world to signify that a debt had been paid in full. Jesus wasn't merely saying His suffering was over—He was declaring that the work of redemption was complete. The price for sin had been paid. The wrath of God had been satisfied. The way to the Father had been opened.

At that moment, dramatic signs confirmed what Jesus had accomplished. Matthew records: "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent" (Matthew 27:51, KJV). The veil that separated the Holy of Holies—where God's presence dwelt—from the rest of the temple was supernaturally torn from top to bottom. This 60-foot-tall, four-inch-thick curtain was torn by God's own hand, symbolizing that access to His presence was now open to all through Christ's sacrifice.

The writer of Hebrews explains the significance: "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh" (Hebrews 10:19-20, KJV). Where once only the high priest could enter God's presence once a year, now every believer has direct access through Jesus Christ.

But the greatest vindication came three days later when Jesus rose from the dead. Paul writes: "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins... But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:17, 20, KJV). The resurrection proved that the Father had accepted Jesus's sacrifice. Death could not hold Him because He had conquered sin. The One who was forsaken was now gloriously restored to the Father's right hand.

Jesus Himself prophesied this outcome. Just before His arrest, He told His disciples: "A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father... Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy" (John 16:16, 20, KJV). The sorrow of the crucifixion was transformed into the joy of resurrection.

This pattern of death leading to resurrection, of suffering leading to glory, is central to the Christian faith. Jesus taught: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24, KJV). The seed must die to produce life. The cross had to precede the crown. Through His death, Jesus brought forth much fruit—millions of redeemed souls throughout history.

Paul describes Christ's exaltation after His humiliation: "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11, KJV). The One who was forsaken is now exalted above all.

This victory has profound implications for believers. Because Jesus conquered death, we too shall rise. Paul declares: "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:21-22, KJV). Jesus is the firstfruits—the guarantee that those who belong to Him will also be raised to eternal life.

Moreover, because Jesus experienced forsakenness, we never have to. God's promise to us is unbreakable: "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5, KJV). Though we may feel abandoned in our trials, the reality is that we are forever held secure in Christ. Paul writes: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39, KJV).

The cross also demonstrates that God can bring good out of the worst evil. If God could take the most heinous crime in history—the murder of His sinless Son—and transform it into the greatest blessing ever given to humanity, then He can certainly redeem our smaller sufferings. Joseph's words to his brothers apply to all who trust God: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Genesis 50:20, KJV).

Furthermore, Jesus's victory over death means that death no longer has the final word for believers. Paul taunts death: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:55-57, KJV). Because Jesus died and rose again, death has become not an end but a doorway to eternal life.

This hope transforms how we face suffering. We don't grieve as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We know that our present sufferings are producing eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17). We understand that God is working all things together for good (Romans 8:28). And we look forward to the day when Jesus will return and make all things new, when "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4, KJV).