“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.” (John 16:32)
Our dependence is in Christ because without Him and His sustaining strength, we inevitably fail. Scriptural evidence to this fact abounds, but maybe the most striking instance of all was when those He chose to live and walk and minister alongside Him for three full years all fled in fear at His arrest in the Garden.
Yet these same men when empowered by the Spirit of promise boldly proclaimed the gospel, and even found joy in persecution: “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41). This transformation demonstrates the necessity of relying on God’s strength. Even Christ on the cross cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). If only momentarily, Christ Himself could not live apart from His Father’s presence.
The strength of our faith fluctuates through periods of peaks and valleys. Yet, true faith persists, and even more so when we ourselves are weak. Paul declares God’s strength most evident in his infirmities: “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
God displays His might through our vulnerability. Remember when Christ beckoned Peter onto stormy waters? Only when Peter began to sink did Christ reach out His hand in rescue (Matthew 14:29-32). Our times of extremity become God’s opportunities, for He is our refuge in trouble (Nahum 1:7). The apostles’ post-Pentecost courage fueled by the Spirit is in sharp contrast to their earlier cowardice. The resolve Christ showed at Gethsemane, despite His anguish, modeled His perfect reliance on the Father.
Job’s faith persisted amid God’s silence: “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15).[1] David’s psalms lament God’s absence and yet affirm his continued trust. And church history abounds with martyrs who were strengthened supernaturally by God’s grace (2 Corinthians 12:9).
The gospel is sufficient to transform weakness into strength. We are powerless against sin, yet believers find strength in Christ (Romans 5:6). His indwelling Spirit sustains us through dark valleys and fiery trials because we have the assurance that eternal glory awaits, where weakness ends (Revelation 21:4). Until then, let us rest in God’s sufficiency, for His power is made perfect in our infirmities.
Contemplations
- Leaning on Christ. Like John at Your bosom (John 13:23), let my faith be made strong from Your presence, Lord. Though I am frail, grant me the strength to stay near.
- Mercy in Denial. If I deny You, Lord, look upon me as You did on Peter (Luke 22:61), in order to prevent a deeper fall. Do not withdraw correction (Isaiah 1:5), but let me fall into Your hands, not those of my enemies. Discipline me in mercy, I pray.
- Seeking Your Presence. You seek me unceasingly, Lord; find and keep me, never leaving me alone. If You must withdraw in order to humble me, do so, but I pray You don’t leave me comfortless (John 14:18). Though seeming asleep in my storm (Matthew 8:24), awake before I perish because it is Your faithfulness that preserves.
- Strength in Frailty. My faith smolders, Lord; nurture it to flame (Matthew 12:20). I know that in my weakness Your power is made complete (2 Corinthians 12:9), so help me glory in my infirmities and sustain me in Your strength.
Prayer (adoration)
O eternal God, You are the unchangeable source of all strength, upholding creation by Your power. I exalt You for revealing Your might in human weakness, as Christ declared in John 16:32. Your wisdom confounds the strong, and You choose the weak to shame the wise.
I adore You for Christ’s example on the cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). In the depths of His agony He modeled dependence on You, knowing Your strength is perfected in frailty. And I marvel at the apostles’ transformation from fearful deserters to bold witnesses (Acts 5:41) once they were empowered by Your Spirit.
Your mercy nurtures smoking flax to flame (Matthew 12:20), fanning embers when faith wanes. I praise You for withdrawing the feeling of Your presence in order to humble me and expose my insufficiency. And yet I know that Paul gloried in his infirmities (2 Corinthians 12:9) because Your power rests upon the weak, turning difficulties into opportunities for Your glory.
I worship You for sharing the story of Peter walking on the water for it was only when he began to sink that he felt Your saving hand (Matthew 14:29-32). Nahum 1:7 calls You our refuge in trouble; and You remind me that even faith the size of a mustard seed, backed by Your strength, is still sufficient to move mountains (Matthew 17:20).
You delight in my weakness, for it displays Your glory. Job still trusted You. though stripped of every earthly advantage (Job 13:15). And those martyrs down through history endured by Your grace, knowing that such trials refine our faith (James 1:4).
I exalt Your sufficiency, Lord, for Your grace abounds in my need. Christ conquered sin and death, and my union with Him ensures my victory over the same. Praise Your Name!
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture references for John 16:32 as it pertains to being forsaken
2 Tim. 4:16, Mark 14:27, John 12:23, 16:2.
[1] “He has himself that has Christ, and he has Christ that has faith. Whatsoever You lose, do not lose this; though You lose Your loves, though You lose Your lives, keep the faith. ‘I will trust in thee, though thou kill me,’ saith Job, chap. 13:15.” Thomas Adams, The Works of Thomas Adams: Being the Sum of His Sermons, Meditations, and Other Divine and Moral Discourses, ed. Thomas Smith, vol. 2, Nichol’s Series of Standard Divines: Puritan Period (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; W. Robertson, 1861–1862), 25.
