August 7th, 2016
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

THIN THREAD OF FAITH

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Opening Prayer

Alpha and Omega, first and last, You are the God of all my beginnings and endings. You are worthy of my praise.

Read PSALM 22:1–31

[1] For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? [2] My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. [3] Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. [4] In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. [5] To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. [6] But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. [7] All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. [8] “He trusts in the LORD,” they say, “let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” [9] Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. [10] From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. [11] Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. [12] Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. [13] Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. [14] I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. [15] My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. [16] Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. [17] All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. [18] They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. [19] But you, LORD, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. [20] Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. [21] Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. [22] I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. [23] You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! [24] For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. [25] From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. [26] The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise him- may your hearts live forever! [27] All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, [28] for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations. [29] All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him- those who cannot keep themselves alive. [30] Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. [31] They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Meditate

“This is one of the most eloquent statements of human anguish in all literature. Yet it concludes with a declaration of faith and praise” (Alton H. McEachern).

Think Further

Psalm 22 comes from a lonely place. Enemies stalk and scorn (6,12). Energy and confidence have run dry (14,15). Only faith remains, as the thread to hold life together—and faith is being stretched terribly thin. Prayer gets no answers (2). Pressure rises, and God seems to have left town (1).

 

How do you lay hold of God and what do you say to God, when God isn’t there? You can do three things. First, you can tell. Let God know what’s happening. Describe it, weep over it and be honest about how much it hurts. Prayer is a place for truth, even when truth is painful. Second, you can remember. God has been present before: “our ancestors… trusted and you delivered them” (4); “from birth… you have been my God” (10). Use the past as a handle to get a grip on today. Third, you can ask: “Do not be far from me” (11,19). If God were visible, everything would look different.

 

When God does come into view (24), the psalmist’s eyes start to open too, into a great vision of praise, reaching and rippling outwards. What starts as “I will praise” (22) expands to “those who seek the Lord will praise him” (26). Then the circle moves out to “the nations” (27), goes down to “the dust” (29) and reaches forward to “future generations… a people yet unborn” (30,31).

 

So pain has turned into praise and helplessness to hope. Even when heaven seemed to be empty, faith could still say, “My God” (1), and this faith has been able to grow into a new and more confident vision. It is almost as if we have moved from Good Friday to Easter—for this is the psalm Jesus used as he hung on the Cross (Mark 15:34).

Apply

What is the psalmist’s basic struggle (1,2,6–8)? Which have you found to be worse—God’s distance or people’s mocking?

Closing prayer

Lord, I am comforted to know that you have walked where I have walked. Encourage me in my struggles.

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