Hear My Cry

The people of Israel believed that their god was the true God, the creator of the world, the One in whose hands were all things and all peoples, who had chosen Israel to be the people through whom to be made known.

Yet things didn’t always work out well for this chosen people. Life got in the way. Sickness, sin, famine, war, to name a few, rolled through their life, and God didn’t seem to be of much use. Hence, the many laments, “Why, O Lord? Why?”

Psalm 22 is a gut-wrenching psalm. The psalmist complains that everyone is against him, that his strength is waning, the end is near. Still, in the midst of disaster, the psalmist had the faith to affirm, “God didn’t hide his face from me.” Amazing.

I remember the woman who rode her bike to the church regularly for food. She had lost her job due to some disability. She was declared ineligible for disability insurance. She had two teenage boys to feed. She turned to the church for food. And we gave. In our discussions, she declared that God had never once failed her. I was amazed at such faith. I wondered, Have I this measure of faith?

Gracious Lord God, grant us the faith to see you even when times are tough. Amen. — DAB