May 9

Psalms for the days of doubt and despair.

There are particular days in our lives when our hearts are filled with doubt and despair. These days can be triggered by the silence of God, an outbreak of evil, personal spiritual struggles or life just not working out like we thought it should. Whatever the cause, these days can leave us disappointed with God and doubting his goodness or even his existence.

What should we do when we feel abandoned by God? Turn to Psalm 22. This is the greatest Messianic Psalm. For those who deny the inspiration of the Bible and the deity of Christ this chapter stands like the Rock of Gibraltar against their assaults. Some say it is only an expression of David as he went through a difficult time. But there is no record that David ever endured this kind of rejection, scorn and violence. David wrote of something that was more than his experience. He wrote about Jesus and his agony on the cross. God gave him a glimpse of the coming Messiah and his suffering and glorification. And all of this is 900 years before the birth of Christ. Hundreds of years before crucifixion was even used as a form of execution. There is no denying that crucifixion was in the mind of David.

Here is how the chapter starts:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

If this was true for David and Jesus, certainly it could be true for you and me. Tension between our experience and theology will cause us to doubt God. During storms not only does God seem far away, he is also silent. Feelings of abandonment and being utterly forsaken can happen to any person. When this feeling appears in our hearts, it is not time to put on a pretending, faking or happy face. In honest and truthful words we need to pour out our hearts to God. Tell him what we are feeling, the pain we are going thorough and even our doubts. Every devout Jew memorized Psalm 22 for times of great distress and darkness. When they were in darkness, couldn't get a prayer out, this psalm was recited.

The silence of God is a terrible feeling… but it happens quite regularly in life. Even our own Lord Jesus felt this abandonment. Jesus knows your loneliness. YOU are not suffering alone. He feels your pain. Our God is a God well acquainted with suffering.