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."

We recognize the first and last verses of this reading as being statements that Jesus quoted while dying on the cross. The first verses are an expression of bitter agony by one who feels that God has turned his back on him. How many times in our lives do we feel the same abandonment? How often have we felt despair and hopelessness and just knew deep down that we were all alone? But did God really forsake Jesus or was he there with him all the time? The answer is both yes and no. God did indeed make “him who knew no sin, be sin on our behalf.” God turned his back on Jesus as he died for the guilt of your sin; my sin and the sin of all mankind. In this, he was forsaken by God as the cup of God’s wrath was administered for sin. Yet, Peter tells us that even in this, Jesus kept entrusting himself to him [God] who judges righteously. So we see that while God allowed Jesus to suffer, and feel forsaken, he was there all along. Jesus knew this and kept trusting God.

In the last verses we see those who taunted Jesus (and the Psalmist) for trusting God and submitting to his will. Today we will have times that others will encourage us to give up on God. They will tell us that God is really not there or that he really does not care about us or that he is just an impersonal force that cannot help or save us from our trials and troubles. As did Jesus, who in the garden prayed so fervently that the “cup pass” from him, yet in humble obedience accepted God’s will, so must we know that God may allow us to suffer but will never abandon or forsake us. In fact, it was Jesus who said; “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”.  Praise God!

O Lord, give me courage and strength to face whatever I must face in this life. Open my eyes when I am tested so that I can see you and know that you are ever with me, holding my hand. I thank you for your constant care and love that you show to me in so many ways. I thank you for your grace and forgiveness thru the sacrifice of Jesus on my behalf. In his name I pray.

May God bless each of us as we learn to trust him more.