Reflect
When Jesus Christ cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” as he was crucified on the cross, we are reminded that even the Son of God experienced the pain of God’s absence. This experience with emptiness can be jarring, and yet through the example of Jesus we are reminded that we can bring to God every complex emotion we carry.
Pray
Lord, when it feels like you are absent help me be courageous
like your Son who cried out to you on the cross,
naming exactly what he was feeling.
In that lonely, abandoned place
help me name the truth of my experience,
daring to still pray, even if I’m unsure who I’m praying to,
as life breaks me open.
My offering to you today: my honesty.
Act
Jesus of Nazareth’s prayer life was not Pollyanna. It was messy, honest, and complex—as we see in his 40 days in the desert, the Garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross. In overwhelming moments today, consider trusting God with your raw emotion and your tangled thoughts. Consider inviting stillness, and attempting to name exactly what you’re feeling.
