April 28: Of Helplessness and Defeat

Judges 8:18-9:21

Luke 23:44-24:12

Psalm 99:1-9

Proverbs 14:9-10

Lk 23:46: Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit My spirit."  When He had said this, He breathed His last.

Psalm 31:5: Into your hands I commit my spirit; delivery me, Lord, my faithful God.

I used to think this was Jesus finally delivering His spirit to His Father, an act of declaration and free will upon the completion of His purpose on earth.  But now, I am not so sure.  I read Psalm 31, and thought it was so much more a cry for help, a cry of "Father, I can't do this on my own anymore; I need Your help."

I'm going to cheat a bit and reference Psalm 31 a bit more, even thought it wasn't part of the reading, but I am finding the context really important.  There, the psalmist cries out in weakness, asking God to do what he cannot, surrendering himself to God.  "You are my refuge," he prays; "be merciful to me…my bones grow weak…because of all my enemies I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends…"

This is not the prayer of one victorious.  This does not seem like the prayer of the Son of God, about to ascend His throne.  This seems more like the prayer of one who is afflicted and helpless and lost…and very much like you and me.  

How many of us have found ourselves lost, adrift, afflicted, desperate?  How many of us have found ourselves helpless in the face of marital problems, job difficulties, challenges raising the children we love?  Maybe I am stretching here, but I am reading today's reading differently than I ever have.  I am taking this as further confirmation that, no matter how hopeless our circumstances, no matter how massive the defeat we face, we can cry out to our Father, and He will hear us and answer our prayers.

Father, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the challenges life poses, especially when we succumb to the world's distraction and take our eyes off of You.  When we are weakest, be our strength.  When we are helpless, be our salvation.  When we are lost, be our guide.  And when we are desperate, give us hope.  We commend our spirits into Your hands.