Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, March 15, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
The summer of 2004 was horrible for me. I won’t bore you, but I could list at least six different major stressors wreaking havoc on my body, mind, and spirit. By September, I started to be semi-suicidal. I didn’t really want to die, per se, but I wanted out of my life so badly I semi-regularly considered driving my car into the ditch on the freeway. Without being so dramatic, I really did wonder, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?” The pain was acute, the sense of abandonment devastating.
That fall, I got into 12-Step recovery for food addiction. That’s when God showed up. Except I realized the truth that God had never abandoned me. In fact, I was the one who had abandoned God, though it had been so subtle and gradual that I hadn’t even realized it. Once I opened my eyes and stepped into a true partnership with God, things began to change. Slowly but surely, I learned to accept those aspects of my life that I could not change, and gained the courage to change the things I could (mostly myself and my reactions to life). The pain eased and was replaced by gratitude.
I know this isn’t everyone’s story. I won’t give anyone advice. All I can say is that I believe in my heart of hearts that God never forsakes us, under any circumstances, even—and especially—when it most feels like it.
When have I felt forsaken by God? How did it resolve?
![Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10 [4:1-11], Jonah and God’s Mercy](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/6bbb490e-4992-4659-a8be-02d8397d68af/24-11-10.jpg)
