Daily Scripture Assignment: Num 5-6; Ps 22; Acts 26

Jarrod GillihanScripture - My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest. Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. - Psalms 22:1-3 (NASB)

Observation - This Psalm was written by David, although it doesn’t seem to fit the details of any situation that we know happened in David’s life. This Psalm clearly describes the coming crucifixion of Jesus. Throughout the Psalm, David clearly describes the events of an execution at the hands of evildoers and there is no confession of sin or wrongdoing on the part of the writer which was certainly true of Jesus Christ.

Application - What an awesome Psalm. There are a lot of messages that jump out at me when I read it. The most obvious one that I grabbed onto immediately was captured in the first three verses.

As David is expressing his sense of being forsaken by God he states that “far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning”. In other words, “I’m suffering now and I know that it’s not going to end any time soon; my deliverance is a long way off.” Wow! Talk about depressing. There is only one thing worse than feeling like you’re at the end of your rope and that’s knowing that help isn’t on the way. You’re stuck.

Then, in verse three, David writes one of the most profound things ever. “YET you are holy, O you who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” That’s a big YET. We would be well served to remember that even in the midst of the worst possible situation imaginable, God is still God. He is still worthy of our praise. He is still on the throne. He is still in control. David doesn’t blame God…and neither should we!

How often do we get angry over the circumstances in our lives and are tempted to be bitter towards God? Who do we think we are? Jesus endured the cross for us and he didn’t deserve any of it. We did. Jesus still recognized the Father as God and accepted his situation as service to Him. So remember, even when deliverance seems a long ways off, God still deserves our praise and love. He can use our suffering to bless those around us as well as ourselves if we will let him.

Prayer - Lord, help me to understand the situations that I find myself in, to recognize how they serve your purposes and not necessarily my happiness.