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One of the reasons I appreciate the Bible—in fact, one of the main reasons that continually convinces me of the truthfulness of the Bible—is the way it portrays life as it really is. It doesn’t avoid the difficult subjects, nor does it sugarcoat the bitterness of life. The Bible tells it as it is.
The songs that have us singing praises to God “when the sun’s shining down on me and the world’s all as it should be” are great, but when we can also find hope when we’re “found in the desert place” is the real test.
Dark times come to all of us.
David is anointed king of Israel and given a promise by God for a lasting legacy (2 Samuel 7:8-9, 16, 27-29; Psalm 110:1). And yet David cried out one of the most painful phrases ever uttered in Psalm 22:1-2, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)
Despite the promises that God gave David, when any of us are in a dark place, there is a natural human tendency to focus on the darkness around us and second-guess what is happening to us. You know the questions:
- How did I get here?
- How will I get out of here?
- When will I get out of here?
- Have I offended God and perhaps missed out on His promise?
- Has He forgotten me?
The Bible does tell us, “If You, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” and we also know it’s true that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Psalm 130:3; Romans 3:23).
That’s for us, not for Jesus. He is the sinless One. He obediently became human to rescue us, knowing full well that He was the fulfillment of the promise God made to David (Matthew 1:1; 22:41-44). Yet He ended up uttering the same painful words David did (Matthew 27:41-46).
Remember I said that King David was a visible picture to help us see the coming King of kings. David was inspired by the Holy Spirit with this knowledge (Acts 2:29-30, 25-28).
The old hymn says, “When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace” and “When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.” Look at David’s preaching to himself:
- I am feeling forsaken (Psalm 22:1-2) … YET You are on Your throne (vv. 3-5)
- I am scorned by others (vv. 6-8) … YET You are closer than my scorners (vv. 9-11)
- I am completely cut off (vv. 12-18) … BUT You are my rescue (vv. 19-24)
What did Jesus know:
- He would sit on the throne of Heaven—Matthew 26:62-64
- His Father was completing everything—John 19:30; Psalm 22:25-31
- He would conquer every enemy—Revelation 1:8, 18
Jeremiah cries out about his dark time, and then like David he says, “YET this I call to mind and have hope.” Jeremiah then talks about the never-ending love and mercy of God, and concludes by preaching to himself, “I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him’” (Lamentations 3:19-24).
“The Lord is my portion” means the Lord is my King who declares promises and fulfills promises.
The help in suffering is not found in focusing on the present darkness—and all the questions—but to focus on God’s promises. Like David’s “yet” and “but” we need to preach to ourselves about God’s past deliverance and then be assured of our future hope.
Just assuredly as our King of kings said, “I will be resurrected from the dead to sit on the throne of Heaven,” He also said, “I will come to take you where I am”!
Take your eyes off the present, temporary darkness and put them on the eternal King!
If you have missed any of the messages in this series on the Royal Psalms, you can find them all here.
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Craig T. Owens 