February 14 | Psalm 22

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DAILY READING

Psalm 22

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REFLECTION

Never Forsaken

By Carmel Elmer

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

I can’t think of anything sadder in all of history than those 9 words spoken by Christ in his greatest moment of agony and here, in the opening verse of Psalm 22 written 1000 years before Jesus cried them out in desperation.

 Throughout Psalm 22 we see a profound foreshadowing of Christ’s agonizing death on the cross and the events leading up to his final desperate cry.  As I studied this Psalm, I highlighted a few verses in my bible:

“Scorned by everyone, despised by the people” vs. 6

“All who see me mock me” vs. 7

“And all my bones are out of joint” vs. 14 (Imagine the exhaustion of hanging on a cross by your hands and feet for 6 hours and the effect on your broken body at that moment when you just can’t even try to hold yourself up for one more second!)

“My mouth is dried up like a potsherd” vs. 15

“They pierce my hands and my feet” vs. 16

“They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment” vs. 18

What strikes me most about what David wrote in his ‘dark moment of the night’ is how uplifting and hopeful this psalm of lament becomes in the final versus – a reminder of God’s supreme praise worthiness, His faithfulness, and His dominion over everything – even our darkest moments.

As I reflected on Jesus saying these words in his greatest moment of desperation, something occurred to me.  This was not Jesus believing God had turned His back on Him and giving up.  This was, even in his worst possible suffering, Jesus demonstrating what you do when you find yourself in your ‘dark moment of the night’…You pray, and you trust! 

Jesus was praying the words of Psalm 22 and reminding those witnessing his death firsthand and us today, that God will NEVER turn his back on us and in the end, He will triumph.

“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!” vs. 31

Recently, I heard a poem written by Benjamin Malachi Franklin.  I will close with this as a reminder: we will ALL face dark times in this life and we must NEVER forget that God is with us, He is faithful, He will win in the end!

The Plan of The Master Weaver

My life is but a weaving between the Lord and me,

I may not choose the colors, He knows what they should be;

For He can view the pattern upon the upper side. While I can see it only on this, the under side.

Sometimes He weaveth sorrow, which seemeth strange to me; but I will trust His judgment, and work on faithfully;

‘Tis He who fills the shuttle, and He knows what is best, so I shall weave in earnest, leaving to Him the rest.

Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why–

The Dark threads are as needed in the Weaver’s skillful hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned. 

PRAYER

Father, You are the master weaver.  Whether we face happiness, sorrow, victory, or our deepest moment of darkness, help us to always remember to trust that You are with us, You are faithful, and You will win in the end!  You will never forsake us.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CARMEL ELMER

I have attended UALC for nearly 25 years, but faith has always been at the center of my life. My mom was an incredible role model, demonstrating a trust in God that surpassed any circumstance. I will always be grateful for her incredible example of faith, and I pray that one day, my children will say the same about me.