Forgotten By God?

AM Psalm 41, 52 • PM Psalm 44
1 Kings 13:1-10 • Phil. 1:1-11 • Mark 15:40-47

Trials and tribulations surround us, everywhere we look. There have been hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico with devastating loss of life and property. There are wildfires on the West Coast with smoke drifting across the country to New England. New England has experienced severe flooding. These are just the natural disasters. There is also the threat Dreamers will be separated from their families and sent to countries they never knew. There is the threat of a war with North Korea that would result in the deaths of millions. Like today’s Psalm, we may find ourselves asking God, “Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?”

In Psalm 44 we read how, in the time of David’s ancestors, God loved his people and he made them victorious over their enemies. But things changed and “now you have rejected and humbled us.” Sometimes we might feel that no matter how faithful we have been, it can seem as if God has given us up “to be devoured like sheep.”

This time is not unlike this same date sixteen years ago. In our current collective “dark night of the soul,” when it is so difficult to see God’s hand in things, this Psalm reminds us to continue to reach out to God because we trust in his unfailing love. This is the fiercest kind of faith—to continue to trust in God’s love and goodness, even when it feels as if he has forgotten us.

Written by Judi Neal

Judi is the founding director of the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace at the University of Arkansas, now retired. She is passionate about workplace spirituality and in helping people find their noble purpose.