Topic: When All Is Lost, Whisper These Words – Daily Devotional by Proverbs 31 Ministries  6 February2024

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When All Is Lost, Whisper These Words

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)” Matthew 27:46 (NIV)

There was a time in my life when honey didn’t drip from my lips. A time when I spoke from only bitterness and anger. Frustrated, I would curse. Broken, I would talk badly about anyone in my path. Hopeless, I would hurl whatever words came out of my mouth.

When I think back on this time, remembering those days in middle school and high school, I now realize my words reflected the inner turmoil of my world. I was in pain — and I felt all was lost. I pulled phrases of expression from the well of my anguish.

Yes, sometimes grief begs for silence. But other times, it’s as if grief begs to be honest and be heard. The way my pain made itself heard was sometimes uncontrolled … but it makes me think of Jesus’ sinless grief when metal was nailed into the thin skin of His wrists, those small bones bearing the weight of His whole body. It makes me think of that moment when He bled from His back, bearing our wounds.

Jesus, tormented, hung on the cross, forsaking all opportunities to bring Himself down, all reasons to save Himself, to prove He was (and is) in fact the King of the Jews.

He hung in humanness, perhaps with memories of His earthly life flashing before His eyes. He hung in holiness, eternal love holding Him to that cross. He hung, taking upon His shoulders the sin of the world, all while He endured the greatest grief. And as He did, He uttered the only words that would display the depth of the pain He felt:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

But those aren’t just any words Jesus mustered up. What’s really going on is that Jesus was reciting Psalm 22, the ancient Word instilled deep within His soul. In the moment of His deepest grief, Jesus turned to and spoke from the Truth He knew. He spoke from the well that is the Word.

It makes me wonder about all our moments filled with grief and rage and pain. Though we are broken over all that feels lost, might our words drip with the rich, foundational principles of our faith? Though we navigate trauma and tension, might our words tell the story that we are still tethered to God?

Perhaps even when all is lost, we, as Jesus did, can whisper the Word.

God, You hold us even when all is lost. Your Word is hope to us even in the moments when we hurt the most. Your Word soothes and speaks Truth to our souls. In our grief, may we always grasp for You — in word, in deed, in heart, in hope. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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