You Have Answered Me – Beloved Women – November 10, 2023
READ: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.” (Psalm 22:1-2 ESV)
TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These words of lament penned by David, and cried out by our Lord over a thousand years later as He hung from the cross, invokes a sense of utter despair and desperation.
Have you been there?
Have you been in a space so dark, and so lonely that you’ve determined that the only reasonable explanation for it is that God has left you - alone?
In the majority of this Psalm, David describes his agony with vivid imagery. He sees himself as a worm, despised by people, while viewing his enemies as powerful bulls and raging lions. His life feels empty, drained like water from a jug, his strength and fortitude melted and dried up to the point where he feels as if he is near death. He cries, begs, and laments. On and on he goes, until verse 21.
“You have answered me.”
Everything changes when David realizes that God hears him. His despair turns to hope. The remainder of the psalm is then filled with praise and expectation of how God will move, concluding with a certainty that those to come will be able to say “That He has done this.”
PRAY: You have answered me. Lord, may the reminders of the ways You have answered me be ever present when I struggle to believe that You have not forsaken me. I am grateful that You are acquainted with my grief, and have experienced those moments, but also, that You have shown that there is resurrection on the other side. Help me cling to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
REFLECT: Create a “memorial marker” or list of truths about God’s character and specific ways that He has heard and answered You in the past. Put it in a prominent place to be reminded that “He has done this” when faced with doubt or despair.
CONNECT: Find more encouragement from Kim Gillespie on Instagram @kimgillespie03.
© 2020 by Kim Gillespie. All rights reserved.
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