And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Jesus' Last Words

We all experience times in our life when it feels as if God is ignoring our prayers.  We search inwardly to determine if there is sin in our life that prevents our prayers from being heard.  We question whether we are expected to wait for God's timing or if we have been told "no." 

But in the worst times of our life, God has never really abandoned us.  We may be frustrated that things are not like we desire or even that God doesn't appear to respond to us.  But we have never been abandoned.

When Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" it is not exaggeration.  At that moment the sins of the world were laid upon Jesus and for the first time in all of eternity His relationship with God the Father was broken.

Jesus' mission on earth was completed at that moment.  As an innocent man He had taken on the sins of the world.  Just as sin separates us from God, the sins that were laid upon Jesus separated Him from God.

After Jesus' spiritual death for our sins, He gave up His physical life as well.  Because of His sinlessness He didn't remain separated from God nor did He remain dead.  We know that Jesus arose triumphantly as a victor over both sin and death.