“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark 15:34
When Jesus hung on the cross in Mark 15, something happened that had never happened before in all of eternity. The Father turned away. The Holy Spirit withdrew. The Son of God, who had always known perfect fellowship, now carried the weight of sin and felt the absence of presence. And in that moment, He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This was not just physical suffering. It was spiritual separation. And Jesus was not crying out about pain alone. He was crying out about the presence, because the presence of God is life itself.
There is a truth revealed in this moment. Jesus did not ask, “Why am I bleeding?” or “Why am I suffering?” He asked about the presence. The Bible shows us that Jesus could not die until two things happened. First, He had to stop speaking. As long as He spoke, His words carried Spirit and life. Even on the cross, He spoke forgiveness, hope, and salvation. Death could not fully take Him while His voice carried heaven’s authority. Second, He could not die while the presence remained. But when the presence of the Father and the Spirit withdrew for that moment of atonement, and when Jesus gave up His final words, He breathed His last. Not because Rome was stronger, but because the sacrifice was complete.
Now this becomes personal for us. As long as God’s Word is active in us and His presence is welcome in us, spiritual death cannot rule us. When we speak truth, when we pray, when we worship, when we stay near His presence, something in us stays alive even in hard places. This is why church matters. This is why worship matters. This is why staying close to Jesus matters. Because life is not just in what we carry, but in Who carries us. Even when Jesus carried His cross and fell under its weight on the Via Dolorosa, someone was sent to help Him carry it. That shows us we were never meant to carry everything alone. God places strength, people, and grace around us when we cannot go on.
The cross was not the end. The absence was not permanent. In three days, presence returned in resurrection power. And the same Jesus who cried out in separation now fills every believer with His Spirit. So stay in His Word. Stay in His presence. Speak life even when life feels heavy. Because where His presence is, there is life.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, keep me close to Your presence and anchored in Your Word. When I feel weak, remind me that Your presence gives life to my spirit. Help me to speak faith, live in worship, and walk with You daily. Let nothing separate me from You. Amen.
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