Deeper Reflection
THERE IS A CRITICAL POINT THAT GOD LEADS US TO IN OUR discipleship journey. It is the breaking through to the ultimate reality. Breaking through to the ultimate reality is a point in my life when I am left with nothing except the Ultimate Reality, God – and that alone is all that matters to me. And the way to that discipleship critical point can be times when we cry out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (v.1a).Why does the Psalmist ask “Why?”? The Psalmist knows that God forsakes His people when they forsake Him (2 Chron 15:2). But in his case, he honestly believes that he is faithful to God and this is indeed true in God’s eyes. And so, he asks God “Why?” He is perplexed. In his painful groaning he pleads with God for “deliverance”, but there is none (v.1b). And “by day” and “by night” he cries to God, but “You do not answer” (v.2). This mysterious divine abandonment is no contradiction to the divine assurance, “I will not fail you or forsake you” (Deut 31:8; Josh 1:5). Otherwise, God shows Himself to be unfaithful.What do we do when we are in such dark and difficult times? Remain faithful to God. We cannot be more faithful than God, can we? The Psalmist anchors himself in God’s track record of faithfulness: God will deliver when we trust in Him and we will not be disappointed (vv.4-5). No matter what, “I am with you” (Josh 1:5) is always there, albeit it is a “You do not answer” divine presence.