10 Apr Wednesday

Psalm 22 begins with “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” This psalm opens with a complaint, and then set out a context to justify the plea before the throne of God. Who of us have not prayed this way in illness, life crisis, or our fears of the future? The enemies are compared to bulls and then to dogs. Remember that dogs did not have quite the same positive regard as they have achieved today in our culture. Dogs is typically an epithet for foreigners; it is derogatory. My cats are thinking this is surely right, but then I remind them that there is not a single cat mentioned in the Bible whatsoever. So, while dogs have it bad, cats don’t have it at all.

But the person praying soon enough turns to praise and thanksgiving even in the midst of attacks, even in the midst of any threat. Jesus, too, trusts in the Father’s presence during the journey of his last days. Like Jesus, we can trust in the Father and praise God in the midst of crushing illness or any of the problems of life. Where does this sort of faith and perseverance come from?