EXPLORING GOOD FRIDAY

Why aren’t my prayers being answered?

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

On Good Friday, we witness a third unanswered prayer - perhaps the most agonizing of them all. Nail to a cross and slowly suffocating, the Son cried out to the Father: "Why have you forsaken me?"And there was no response from heaven. No dove descending. No booming voice. No answer to prove the question wrong.

Day 26: Naked Trust

Pause

“Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish in my ears by groaning; my strength fails, because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.” - Psalm 31:9-10

Reflect

  • Bible: “So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” - 2 Corinthians 5:6-9

  • Book: Brennan Manning writes that “The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some pre-determined, clearly delineated plan for the future. The next step discloses itself only out of discernment of God acting in … the present moment. The reality of naked trust is the life of a pilgrim who leaves what is nailed down, obvious and secure, and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signaled the movement, and offered His presence and His promise.” - (p. 149)

Ask

  • What are you currently struggling with that has caused physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual distress for you?

  • How do you expeirence God’s mercy in the midst of your struggle?

  • Are you confident that you can not only get through your struggles but also discover deeper blessings for having gone through your struggles? Why or why not?

  • What does it mean to walk by faith and not by sight?

  • Do you agree or disagree with the Apostle Paul’s statement that it is better to be away from the body and at home with the Lord? Explain why you feel this way.

  • In what way does trust move us into obscurity, into the undefined, and into ambiguity?

  • What advice would you give to someone who has to make a major life decision but feels that there is no pre-determined or clearly delineated plan for the future?

  • Define the term - “naked trust” and explain how it might characterize the life of a pilgrim.

  • Why would anyone walk into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future?

Yield

A prayer for disruption by M.K.W. Heicher:

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

Amen.



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