Today's Scripture:

Psalm 22 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive. 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!

Read: Reflect on a story in your life that pertains to this scripture.
David was no stranger to the struggle or hardship of life’s circumstances. This was the same guy who spent a great deal of his life on the run from King Saul, who was seeking to kill him. David knew the pain of experiencing the loss of loved ones, the burden of leadership, and the difficulties of conflict. In Psalm 22, David found himself in an impossible circumstance and wondered why God wasn’t coming to the rescue immediately. David begins the Psalm explaining that he has made repeated, constant appeals to God and felt unheard and ignored. David then goes on to refer to himself in verse 6 as “a worm and not a man.” Basically saying, “God I am helpless, powerless, trampled on, unnoticed, and despised.” However, even though David may have been feeling abandoned by God, it didn’t cause him to turn away from God. Rather, it caused him to boldly trust in God! And we should trust God too...…but why? Many of those who know me understand that I get a little nerdy about finding Jesus foreshadowed in the Old Testament. This passage is one of those… It’s amazing! In Matthew 27:4,6 while on the cross, Jesus cried out “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is the same thing David says when beginning this Psalm of Lament. I really do believe Jesus was intentional in saying this to point us back to this psalm. You see, although there may be times where we feel abandoned by God, we get the chance to remember the sacrifice Christ made and the reason why He made it. Remember, our own sins separated us from God. But God didn’t want that. He loves us so much that He wanted to be with us forever. So, He sent Jesus to pay for the penalty of our sins through the suffering on the cross. This is why we should trust God! Because even when we deserved to live forever separated... God never wanted that, and He was willing to sacrifice HIS OWN SON to be with us. We have a good God who wants to be with us. He not only wants to be with us…He is with us!

Reflect: What is this scripture telling you during this season?
Have you ever had a time where you felt like God was far away? A time where you have been crying out to God time after time and felt unheard? Unseen? Ignored? Unanswered? I know in times that I have walked through circumstances of loss, conflict, or injustices, I have felt like this. Even in my own internal battle with depression and anxiety, I have felt like this. It is not uncommon to say we all may have had moments where we have cried out to God asking Him the same three things that David was asking when he began this Psalm of Lament: 1. God, are You really there? 2. God, I am hurting… why won’t You save me from this? 3. God, why won’t You answer me… are You even listening?

Respond: How is this scripture calling you to respond?
If you’re finding it hard to trust in God through whatever you’re going through…. You’re not alone! I am telling you that right now I am struggling to trust God while I am typing this out! But here is the first step in what we can do together: we can pray honestly… and I mean HONESTLY! Just like David, we can bring the things we are struggle with truthfully to God. We don’t need to tidy up our prayers like tidying up our rooms before our parents see it (which, if you’re a kiddo reading this your room should be totally clean, right???)! Rather, we can say things like “God, I am so mad at You!” or “God, I really don’t think You’re here with me!”. Trust that nothing you can say will ever separate you from God’s love. But don’t let it stop there. Finish your prayer with just one truth you know about God. Write it down, state it out loud, and share it with this community! David felt abandoned and was honest to God. But He also knew these truths: 1. God rules (verses 3). 2. God delivers and rescues (versus 4). 3. God never causes anyone to stumble (verse 5). 4. God is our Creator, and He loves His creation (verse 10). 5. God is our strength (verse 19). 6. God listens (verse 24). And there are so many other truths, even within this passage, that we can trust today and everyday!

About Kaylie Baudin:
I am fixing to celebrate two years of marriage with my husband, Daniel! I am the youngest in my family with an older brother and sister who have given me the blessing of getting to be Auntie Kay to the three best nieces ever! When I get the chance to hang out with my nieces, we love to visit their Gigi and Pa-pal (my parents) and do a lot of random adventures. I am also the number one daughter/sister-in law to Joshua, Mama T, and Mr. Earl Baudin! I have been a nurse for over 5 years now. My hobbies are for sure cooking and coaching sports! Let me know if you have any good recipes!
I have been involved at Grace for about three years now and currently have THE COOLEST opportunity to work as the Young Adult Intern here at Grace.