If the Pharisees had understood Jesus when he cried “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” they would have certainly recognized it as a quote from the Psalms but would likely have also concluded, “That is proof we were right!”
Jesus had claimed some special relationship with God – sonship. In fact, He had even been blasphemous enough to equate Himself as God Himself, the great I AM. But now, when it was crunch time, God had forsaken Him. They had proven their point. This was just a sinful man, a blasphemer who deserved the horrid death He was enduring right now. Even Jesus admitted that God had forsaken Him. The Pharisees were right.
In actuality, what appeared as a cry of defeat was God’s path to the ultimate victory. Jesus was rejected but it was for our sin, our sin that had now been laid upon Him. Jesus became the greatest sinner of all time so He could become the Savior for all time.
Perhaps you need to cry defeat also, to enter God’s victory. Often it takes us coming to the end of ourselves, to a point of utter despair before we finally cry out to God and allow Him to show Himself strong on our behalf. What may appear to be a cry of defeat could be your first step to God coming to your defense.
Don’t give up. Instead, give it over. Turn your problem over to God. Give Him the reins in your life and see what He does with it. Your cry of defeat will become an entrance to resurrection victory.
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2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Good article. Our flesh hates entering into that state but like you said, God will take us through that valley.
Thanks. Yes, everything within us (except the Holy Spirit) hates the refining process. I do love the fact though, that He does not stand at a distance and watch us go through it but remains inside us consoling, encouraging and helping us through the fire. (Just like He did with the three cast into the flames in the book of Daniel. God was in the midst of the trial with them.)