Guest post by author Linda Apple
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27: 45 & 46
There have been times I’ve cried out to God for help, only to feel as if my prayers hit the ceiling and fell to the floor. My pain was real. I needed help beyond what anyone on earth could offer, yet God’s silence was deafening. I wondered if he even heard me. Did he even care?
Have you ever felt that way? If so, you and I are not alone. Jesus Christ also experienced God’s silence. I’ve read the above passage many times over the years, but during one of the most desperate times in my life, when I read Matthew 27, God revealed his purpose in silence.
Life has given me many blessings but has also led me through shadowy valleys. We may experience rejection, abandonment, betrayal, or abuse. We may fear for our loved ones, been slandered, or have lost everything. Yet, we are not alone. We have an advocate who also suffered these cruelties. Like us, Jesus agonized in tortured prayer for hours. So much so that the capillaries in his face broke under his stress and mingled with his sweat. In the darkness, he pleaded with God for another way. Did he see himself hanging naked on a cross, beaten so cruelly that he wasn’t recognizable as a man? Did he already sense the impending silence?
In the past, I breezed over the passages relating his prayer in the garden, arrest, and crucifixion. But this time, the horrors of His suffering played in my mind, and the staggering realization that God’s silence didn’t discourage Christ. He chose to trust God.
I’ve experienced God’s silence a few times since that day, and I have chosen to trust him. He always answers, but in his way, in his timing. I may still grieve while I wait. After all, I’m human. He understands. He knows a lot about pain, as well.
Take comfort, you can trust Him, too.
Linda Apple is a Christian writer. She has authored four children’s books and has a new one due out next month. She is currently working on a ‘how-to’ book on inspirational/memoir pieces. You can find her books on Amazon. For more information, check out her author website at linda@lindaapple.com.