by Robert Fudge

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? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. 3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy one; you are the praise of Israel. 4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." 9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. 10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. 11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

You probably recognize more than one prophecy in this passage referring to Jesus on the cross. When David wrote this he felt as though God had deserted him. He continues to recognize God as God and in control but wonders why he does not get an answer to his prayers and pleading. Many of us have felt this same despair when it seems that God is not listening. David also recognized that God had saved his ancestors when they seemed to have nowhere else to go. Do we really trust God to take care of us?

Certainly God is not going to do everything for us. Paul did not say: “God will do all things through me,” but rather said: (Philippians 4:13) "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." We need to be assured that God hears our prayer, our cries for help, our praise and adoration to His name. Too often when we don’t get a quick and easy answer we assume that God is not listening. The truth is that God does care about each of us and is intently listening. When we cannot express in words the feelings in our hearts, God’s Holy Spirit intercedes for us. What a blessing to know that God hears, the Spirit intercedes and since Jesus has experienced everything we face, He pleads our case to the Father.

We must place our trust – unequivocal trust in God. We must be fully assured that He hears us and responds to us. It may not be the answer we want to hear and/or it may not be timed as we would like it, but that does not mean that God is not hearing and answering us.

Lord, please increase my faith in you, in your Son who died for me, and in your Spirit who lives in me. Help me to be more what you want me to be. Fill my heart with your love and your joy and your peace. Help me to live for you today with wisdom from above. It is in the name of Jesus I pray.

May God bless you as you trust Him and live for Him today.