Trust and Abandonment all in the Same Moment...

“My God! My God!
Why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from helping me,
so far from my anguished cries?”

“In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted,

and you rescued them.”

(Psalm 22:1,4, Complete Jewish Bible)

The range of emotions and human conditions embedded in the text of the Book of Psalms continues to amaze me as I journey through them every month.  We see the author expressing their heart to God in the midst of troubles and trials. It seems to be an emotional roller coaster, for in one moment the expression of abandonment is clear and in the next moment there is a realization of God’s

faithfulness and deliverance. 

I walk away from this particular piece of scripture with some encouragement. I learn that when I feel like God has abandoned me and I feel alone in this world, others from the Bible have felt the same way. Jesus felt that way on the cross while bearing the sins of humanity. We know that, because he quoted this very Psalm while on the cross. David obviously feels that way in this Psalm. God will not abandon us if we trust that he will deliver us from trials. Remember, deliverance does not always mean the pain is taken away. He delivers us from and/or through our trials.  When we feel that God has abandoned us, we must hold on and trust in him at all times.

Trent