Category: Psalm

Oh my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent (Psalm 22:2).

David calls.

God is silent.

Well, that’s a bummer.

Now, David could take this several ways. He could give up on God and assume that he is a myth, and that David is entirely alone. He could become angry with God, raging at God’s injustice in allowing his child to be in such a place of pain. He could become sullen and resentful and show God that David doesn’t really need him; David will be just fine on his own, thank you very much.

Or, he can persist, knowing that his relationship with God is more than this moment, and the truth of God is more than this circumstance.

On Wednesday, just after I posted, my son and I hiked to the top of Mt. San Gorgonio. This, by the way, is why there was no post yesterday, as we didn’t get home until late Thursday afternoon. I am not a very experienced hiker, and I’m in only mediocre shape. These factors put climbing such a mountain in the “What are you thinking?” category. I thought of today’s verse as I limped my way up the last four miles of mountain. I felt, in those endless hours, as if the torture would pretty much be forever. Seems silly now, comfy in my chair with a good night’s sleep behind me and half a bottle of Ibuprofen coursing through me, but in that moment I think I got a glimpse of what David was feeling.  And I marvel at David’s persistence in crying out to the One who has delivered him time and again.

Cry out, Beloved. 

He is listening.

He is near.

He will answer.

Happy Friday

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?  (Psalm 22:1).

And yet he isn’t far, is he, Beloved?

I mean, we’ve been around long enough to realize that God is with us, even when we can’t feel his presence. He promised that he would never leave us, never forsake us, and we believe him.

But

that doesn’t change the way it feels.

I feel your pain, David my brother.

So I don’t know where you are today, emotions-wise. You may read this verse and think, “Wow, yeah, I remember feeling that way. So glad that’s over!”

For now

For someone out there, this verse is the echo of your own cry, of the pain and the sorrow and the terror of the “What if.”

As in, “What if I really am alone?”

“What if God really isn’t coming back?

or worst of all,

“What if he was never really there in the first place?”

If that’s you, all I can tell you is you’re not the first to feel this way, and you won’t be the last. You are not forgotten by the One who loves you.  If you can hang in and hang on, it will absolutely get better

in just a couple of verses.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

Oh, and just so’s you know–I will be out of internet range tomorrow, so we’ll resume Friday! God bless you!

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  (Psalm 22:1).

Forsaken

Deserted

Left utterly alone

David felt this. He looked around at the enemies arrayed against him and figured that God just wasn’t coming to the rescue this time. Maybe he was angry with David, or maybe he was too busy elsewhere. Whatever the reason, David was alone.

Beloved, I hope that you never feel that depth of aloneness. I hope your heart never tells you that you are abandoned by God, left to fend for yourself in a world that is against you. 

But, chances are, you have. 

Or you will

Or…you are

But

Your heart is mistaken.

You are not forsaken.

Jesus was forsaken for you. On the cross, Jesus was truly and completely separated from the Father as he took the punishment that we deserved. He took David’s words as his own as he cried out. He who had never in all eternity been alone suffered complete desolation

so that you will never have to.

You are not forsaken. Whatever your emotions or your circumstances or your chemistry tells you this morning, you are not forsaken.

You are remembered.

You are surrounded.

You are beloved.

Happy Tuesday

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Psalm 16:11).

You know where you’re going.

You know who awaits you.

What more do you need?

Isn’t it good to be beloved, Beloved?

Happy Tuesday

…nor will you let your Holy One see decay (Psalm 16:10b).

So, is David talking about himself here, or is he talking about Jesus?

Yes

Does that help?

As the anointed king, David was certainly the Holy One, set apart for God.

And, you know, good for him.

But ultimately this verse is speaking of the Christ, the One who would bust Death in the chops and stride out of the tomb under his own power.

I wonder how much David knew. I wonder how much God shared with him about the One who would come to fulfill the reign David had begun.

Maybe we’ll get to ask him one day.

Probably not today though.

For today, walk in the knowledge that he who destroyed Death has chosen you to be his Beloved. Death cannot have you,

ever,

because you are already His. Whatever today may bring–and it is Monday, after all–it’s nothing that can separate you from the love of God.

Happy Monday, Beloved

…for you will not abandon me to the grave… (Psalm 16:10).

Assuming Jesus does not return first, one day you will die. Your heart, lungs, synapses and phalanges will all cease to function, and you will slowly begin to decompose, unless you die in a warm and moist climate, in which case you will rapidly decompose, unless your family has you embalmed, in which case you will slowly shrivel over time, locked in the darkness of the earth as your spirit wanders for all eternity.

Happy Friday, Beloved

Wait

That’s not true.

Oh, the part where you die might be true. And the part about your phalanges. But it won’t be for eternity.

God has promised you an eternity with him.

That eternity includes light and life and being in the presence of God forever.

Beloved, I don’t know exactly what happens when you die. None of us does. But I know that in Christ death has no victory, no sting.

You will not be abandoned; you will be welcomed home.

Now, Happy Friday Beloved

…my body will also rest secure (Psalm 16:9b).

This is one of those lines that I can read in two ways.

When I read this in the context of the preceding verses, I think of the here and now. Because God is with me, I can relax. I can know peace. I can–or at least I should be able to–release the stress of this world that makes my stomach ache and keeps me awake at night. I can rest, secure in the knowledge that the Lord of the Universe is in control.

I like this.

I can also tie this line to the following verse, you will not abandon me to the grave. Now the line seems to be talking of death. When my time here is over, I will rest in peace, because the Lord of Everything will not forget me.

I like this, too.

Which reading is correct? Oh, Beloved, you know that I am not a theological scholar, and my trusty study Bible only gets me so far. My gut tells me that it means both of these, and more.

So very much more

God loves you, Beloved.

Rest secure.

Happy Thursday

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices (Psalm 16:9a).

When was the last time you praised God outside of church?

Sometimes it’s not easy. I mean, if you start singing at the top of your voice in strange tongues and dancing with all your might wearing only a linen ephod while standing in the households section of WalMart, you may produce the wrong kind of reaction.

Then again, it is WalMart. You may get no reaction at all.

But there are other ways, Beloved. Make God part of your conversations with the world. Show the people around you that “your heart is glad” and make sure they know Who is responsible for your joy. Name-drop the Almighty as though you were talking about a real person who has done great things for you.

Because he is

And he has

Maybe the ephod stays home.

Maybe not…your call.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

Therefore my heart is glad…(Psalm 16:9a).

Your heart

The seat of your emotions–those somewhat turbulent, seldomtobetrusted emotions.

You know, it doesn’t have to be so complicated, Beloved.

God is with you.

Let your heart be glad.

Go on…let it!

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken (Psalm 16:8).

Remember the God is my co-pilot bumper stickers?

It’s like that, only

God is your copilot

and

God is your pilot

and

God is your navigator

and

God is your flight attendant

and

God is your air marshall

and

God is your air traffic controller

and

God is the plane

and

God is the air

and

God is your destination.

And what are we? We are the little kids that get wings pinned on our t-shirts and think we can fly the plane–while everyone around us grins knowingly.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Enjoy the flight.