If anyone has ever felt abandoned or forsaken by God, and they truly were, it would have to be Jesus. When he was hanging on that cross, the full weight of all of the world’s ugly sin hung heavily on him physically, mentally and spiritually, as he bore it in our stead.

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46

Can you imagine Jesus’ heartache when the Father was separated from Him as He hung there? At the most difficult moment in his entire life, God the Father – who knew of Jesus’ innocence – had in some way been removed from Jesus’ presence. This had to have been the most excruciating part of the cross! Yet, even in these moments when God’s presence was not felt by Jesus, he was fully aware of his purpose – God’s plan – and knew that He must endure this separation until the end. Only then would He be reunited with his Father, and only then would we have a way of peace with God.

As a result of Jesus experiencing such separation while enduring such pain to his death, He completed God’s will, granting us as God’s own to claim promises that He will never forsake us as He had done with Jesus.

The following verses speak to those promises!! Read them, meditate on them, and let them sink in to the depths of your heart, because this IS the heart of your Heavenly Father: one of pure LOVE for his children.

“I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Genesis 28:15

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
Deuteronomy 31:6-8

“No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Joshua 1:5

“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.“
Psalm 37:25

“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.”
Psalm 37:25-28

“For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.”
Psalm 94:14

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:10-13

 “..and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 19:10

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
1 John 4:16

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”
Revelation 21:3

Photo by: Kari Wiseman – The Rose