“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?…”
— Psalm 22:1aThe Psalms don’t allow for a faith of clichés. They are brutal. They are honest. But they are, in turn, Good News, because they represent real life. Of course, we could choose to eliminate this library of discomfort from our Scriptures, but then, we know our God-breathed faith directive would be incomplete. I once heard a wise teacher define truth as such: truth is simply facts on reality. On this occasion, the Psalmist David is thankfully leaning into a deep truth to sober us as readers: we are all imperfect humans! No one is exempt or invincible from that fact. Sound familiar? Yep.
I love that Jesus promises to be in our midst where two or more are gathered (Matthew 18:20), but we must not forget the deep promise of God’s very nature through the incarnational “Immanuel” title that is: God with us! Even in our loneliest moments (which often represent human suffering): He is there. So, it is by no accident that on the cross, Jesus steps into the emotional human experience by quoting from the suffering posture of the first line of this Psalm. He is engaging in one of the most unprecedented moments in human history, much like one we are all currently experiencing.
This week, I’m giving myself permission to be human, and I would encourage you to do the same! To faithfully engage with God in the tension of the “in-between.” To wrestle with God, much like the Psalmist David and the posture culminated through King Jesus in such an uncomfortable moment of time. As we give ourselves this permission, the Lord promises His peace, which will resolve in resurrected life and hope, because this is where God’s nature throughout history is and will continue to be undefeated!
Pastor T.D. Davis |
