Not Forsaken

Psalm 22

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?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
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.
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.

Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.

But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
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.

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!

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,
for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.

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.
Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!

“We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” asked Peter in Matthew 19:27. Has it ever felt like God has given you the short end of the stick? By following Jesus, perhaps you have given up success. Maybe you’ve had to cut off certain friends or family members. It’s possible you’ve risked your reputation, your health, or even your life.

 And then you end up in a situation like King David. A circumstance that makes you think, “Has God abandoned me, too? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” King David suffered a lot during his life even though God called him “a man after [his] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). He was pursued by Saul. His own son Absalom staged a coup against him. His closest advisors and friends betrayed him. Yes, David committed many grievous sins himself. He was far from holy. But even after being assured God forgave him (2 Samuel 12:13), David still had many problems.

 What are the circumstances that make you want to say, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The situations that make you wonder if your walk with Jesus has only served to lead you into your own personal hell? In these times, how can you know that following Jesus is worth the cost?

 David’s words in Psalm 22 were not his alone. God did not look down at David  from on high with an uncaring heart. God is not so removed from you he does not know your pain. The Son of God himself came to experience total abandonment by God. As he hung on the cross, all who saw him mocked him, hurling insults, shaking their heads and saying, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!” (Matthew 27:42). A pack of villains surrounded him. They pierced his hands and his feet with nails. Down below, they divided his garments and cast lots for his clothing. And worst of all, God abandoned him. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus received the fullness of God's wrath against sin so completely, his Father would not even look at him anymore.

 Because the Father turned from his Son, he now turns to look at you. In you, he sees his Son. And not just a passing resemblance. In Romans 8:29, the Holy Spirit tells us, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” By faith in the Son of God, you have received his righteousness, his holiness, his death, and his resurrection. God did not abandon him in the grave (Acts 2:25-32). He will not abandon you to a personal hell. He will not abandon you to death. He will rescue you from every evil attack and bring you safely to his heavenly kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18).