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REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is Jesus is broken for you. To be broken means to suffer emotional pain that is so strong that it changes the way a person lives, usually as a result of an unpleasant event. Jesus is broken for you, therefore, means Jesus suffered emotional pain on the cross as a propitiation for our sins. As a person, Jesus felt broken, rejected or forsaken by the Father whom he had relied on all this while for power, security and sustenance? Dear friend, how would feel when your husband or wife, parent or child watch in silence while you suffer unjustly? In the case of Jesus, God purposely sacrificed Him for our salvation, Jesus understood His mission therefore before His arrest and suffering, He prayed “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”..“My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” (Matthew 26:39,42.). Jesus had already anticipated that a time will come when He will be broken and lonely and for the first time, He would experience rejection from the Father because of His role as the sacrificial lamp. Jesus’ words ““Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) in Matthew 27:46 were an expression of His pain or brokenness on the Cross. David also express this same emotional pain when His enemies were after his life, in his distress and brokenness, he said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. (Psalms 22:1-2). Dear friend, it is alright to express such brokenness to God in prayer because He understands our pains and listens to our cries or grief in times of pain and challenges.

Have you ever felt lonely and helpless, especially, during a period of agony and grief? Jesus experienced loneliness on the cross. Through Jesus’ loneliness and rejection on the cross, we truly come to understand His sacrifice, in that, God sacrificed Him as ransom so that we shall be saved from sin and condemnation. In the process, Jesus felt separation from the Father and we became reconciled to Him. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21). May the brokenness of Jesus lead us to repentance and faithfulness to God. Paul experienced salvation through the brokenness of Christ on the Cross therefore he wrote to the Galatians “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Beloved in the Lord, have we also repented because we associate with pain Jesus went through on our behalf?

Dear friend, there are times we feel lonely in life and have no one to turn to, especially in challenging times. We are greatly encouraged to turn to Jesus because He perfectly understands our situation and will give us eternal comfort and companionship. He experienced loneliness, rejection and brokenness on the cross so that those who believe in Him will benefit from His sacrifice, peace and ever-sufficient grace. It is for this reason, Jesus assures us that “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) A believer who sometimes contemplates suicide must understand that he or she is not alone in his or her struggles. Jesus is always with us and invites us to always come to Him saying “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28). Again, Jesus has made provision for us to feel secure and to rest assured that we are not alone in our walk of faith. Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16-17). Beloved in Lord, fear and disappointments may make you feel lonely, broken and estranged from the Lord, but faith gives us the confidence that we are not alone and that Jesus is always with us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, in our broken and challenging moment, may we be comforted through Your Word and Your Sacrifice on the Cross that you are with us to the end of the age. May we remain comforted through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and may we never give up but put our trust in you for our redemption. Amen.