"Into Thy hands...."

"Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit.'" (Luke 23:46)

This was the ultimate surrender of loving trust. Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, KNEW His Father intimately. As a man, He had spent hours alone with His Father in the intimacy of prayer. Luke tells us, "Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray." (Luke 5:16) All that Jesus did, all of His life, was in constant communion and fellowship with His Father. He lived in perfect oneness and obedience with Him, filled with His very life and love and power.

Now, however, He hangs on a Roman cross, in utter agony of pain and suffering, and for the first time in His eternal existence, His Father has turned away from Him. As Jesus bears and represents the sin of the world, His Father's face, love, approval, help, strength and comfort cannot be His. He is forsaken. All with a purpose. But how appalling that must have been!

What is His response? Through the darkness, silence and agony, the Lord Jesus cries out to His Father whom He cannot see or feel in that moment. While everything looks and feels like complete defeat, He cries out, "Father", followed by, "into Thy hands I commit My spirit."

This is an expression of utter trust, in a moment where there is nothing to encourage trust. Through the darkness, Jesus cries out in surrender. He lets go of His very life into the hands of the One who has turned away from Him.....believing in His Person, His heart, and His power.

This scene prompts deep thought and adoring wonder. It also brings a question: If the Son of God, in this darkest hour, freely and utterly abandoned His life to God, letting it go into His hands....should I not do the same? We are called to walk in surrender and faith. Surrender and faith have the same object: God Himself. We surrender TO God, and we have faith IN GOD. The Son of God KNEW His Father, and did not hesitate to trust Him even in this hour of deepest darkness. And so must I, no matter how dark or silent the hour may be, no matter how much it looks like defeat. Those who surrender themselves entirely into God's hands may look to Him in hope. Let God write the rest of the story.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Ps.30:5) After the Cross comes the Resurrection. God brings about a new day.

How can we be ready to trust God like this in the hour of crisis? By practicing the same attitude every single day. Those who are able to say "Into Thy hands I commit my spirit" when all goes dark are those who learn to practice saying "Into Thy hands I commit my spirit" on the ordinary day. We may not use those exact words, but it's an attitude of heart - a deliberately chosen stance. "I surrender, Lord Jesus, to You today. You are worthy of my trust. Teach me to do Your will." This will prepare us for all the tomorrows.

And yes indeed, He is worthy of our trust.