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Day 162

Psalm 22:1b "Why are You so far from helping Me?"

Day 162 – Psalm 22

“Why are You so far from helping Me…?” Psalm 22:1b

A STARTLING BEGINNING

The opening lines of Psalm 22 are most startling!

“My God, My God, why have Your forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of my groaning?
O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season and am not silent.”
Psalm 22:1-2

How may we understand the obviously painful statements above?

1. What the statements do not mean

a) These are not words of accusation!
b) The questions do not represent doubts!

2. What the statements mean

a) They are cries of deep anguish.
b) They are painful pleas of a person who has a deep relationship with God.
c) The rhetorical questions raised represent a search for understanding of God’s actions.

3. The plight of the petitioner

a) He is obviously in great need.
b) In his desperation he cries out to God (as he usually does).

4. A strange turn of events

a) God seemed far away. He seemed to have distanced Himself.
b) He seemed not to have heard the prayers that had been offered day and night.
c) The silence of God was painful to bear.
d) It was this pain of the soul that caused him to cry out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Deep down there was a deep sense of trust that God had not forsaken Him at all!