based on the Love God Greatly Study, Lent – A Season of Drawing Close to God / w5d5
THE JOURNEY (SCRIPTURE AND OBSERVATION)
Scripture: Psalm 22 SOAP: Verse 19
But you, O Lord, do not remain far away.
Psalm 22:19
You are my source of strength. Hurry and help me!
Have you ever felt abandoned by God? You pray, but it feels as though He isn’t listening; you watch, but You do not see Him move on your behalf. That’s where David seems to be in this Psalm, at least at first – but oh, how I love it when David begins to remember and to remind God of how his ancestors had trusted in God and He had rescued them, how they had cried out to God and they were saved. I especially love that his ancestors had trusted in God and were not disappointed.
I love these reminders David brings up to God because I have found that when we find ourselves where David was, it’s the recalling of God’s faithfulness and goodness that begins our ascent from the pit of woes and feelings of desertion. It’s calling to mind who He is and what He’s done that leads us to remember to trust His heart even when we cannot see His hand at work in our lives. It is remembering and reminding Him that He is our source of strength that leads us to call to Him believing He is listening and will come to deliver, rescue and save us.
LIVING THE JOURNEY (APPLICATION)
When we can’t see God’s hand we must remember who He is and what He has done in the lives of people throughout Scripture, in our lives and the lives of those around us.
When we cannot see His hand and we feel abandoned – we must trust His heart, His love that sent Jesus to the cross, and His promises to hear us when we call to Him.
When we cannot see His hand we must continue to trust that He will never leave us or forsake us.
When we cannot see His hand we must continue to trust that He is forever our source of strength.
PRAYER FOR THE JOURNEY
Father, thank you for teaching us in Your Word and by experience that when we cannot see You we can trust Your heart of love and acts of abundant goodness and complete faithfulness. We confess it isn’t always easy and we ask for help to pray as David did – recalling that not only are You good but You are our source of strength and You will always hear the prayers of Your children. –
THE MORE WE KNOW
I want to ask you to do me a favor, one that will bring a rich blessing to your heart and enhance your Easter celebration more than you can imagine. It is a quick and easy listen – though I will warn you I have listened to it about five times already and intend to listen to it again and again. I plead with you to listen all the way to the end – I promise you won’t regret it!
I listened to this a week ago and yet came to the Psalm yesterday in our study … You’ll understand once you’ve read our study verse and then listened to this short podcast when I say – only God!
The recording is from The Grove Podcast (one of my favorite). This episode was part of the 2023 Grove Conference and recently posted on The Grove Podcast on February 28, 2024 –
Me From the Inside Out 