Day 538: When I do right – but things go wrong. - Psalm 44

1-3 O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them. 4-8 You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us. For not in my bow do I trust, nor can my sword save me. But you have saved us from our foes and have put to shame those who hate us. In God we have boasted continually, and we will give thanks to your name for ever. Selah

9-16 But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies. You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have taken spoil. You have made us like sheep for slaughter and have scattered us among the nations. You have sold your people for a trifle, demanding no high price for them. You have made us the taunt of our neighbours, the derision and scorn of those around us. You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughing-stock among the peoples. All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face at the sound of the taunter and reviler, at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 17-21 All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. Our heart has not turned back, nor have our  steps departed from your way; yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death. If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart. 22 Yet  for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

23-26 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us for ever! Why  do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? For our  soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! Psalm 44 (English Standard Version)

One of life's darkest roads is when we try hard to follow Jesus, yet things go horribly pear shaped. We may think God has turned against us. It's like the dilemma described in today's Psalm. Though they weren't aware of any great wrongdoing on their part, the Israelites had suffered a serious defeat in battle and were left confused and wondering why God hadn't helped them. (vs 9-16). Their ancestors had spoken of the wonderful things God did in their generation. How He drove out pagan nations in His power and gave Israel a land of their own. (vs 1-3) The writer knows those past victories were not by their own strength and so he says: “I don't trust in my bow; I don't count on my sword to save me - You are the one who gives us victory.” So his faith was in the right place! (vs 4-8) Yet Israel's armies were on the run, scorned and mocked by their enemies. Christians can end up with similar sorrows when things go wrong and their life seems to be in tatters. It all led to the writers agonized cry to God for help in vs 23-26. His words might sound irreverent, but he was desperate.

But it's vs 22 of this Psalm that is the reason WHY we can cry out to God in times of great distress. The apostle Paul quoted those very words in Romans Chapter 8, and applied them to the hard times Christians were going through. But then he adds: “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No - despite all these things - overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us! I'm convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.” (Romans 8:35-38) If our life ever takes a terrible turn for the worse – whether through our fault or others – we can, and we must, cry out to God, and remind Him that we are as helpless as sheep, and we need His help urgently. Our plight will awaken His power because of His never failing love for us in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the good shepherd who cares for His sheep. He brings back even the one who got itself lost.