Devotional Thoughts From Psalm 44:21-26

Psalm 44:21–26 21Shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart. 22Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. 23Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? Arise, cast us not off for ever. 24Wherefore hidest thou thy face, And forgettest our affliction and our oppression? 25For our soul is bowed down to the dust: Our belly cleaveth unto the earth. 26Arise for our help, And redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.
Asleep. He is sleeping during our storm!
We are suffering and near death and he cares so little that he dozes. Please, wake up and rescue us!
That is the sentiment of the Psalmist. They are suffering and he seems to slumber.
I am reminded of something that happened during the life of Christ. He and the disciples are crossing the sea of Galilee and Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat when a great storm comes suddenly. I am told that something about the way the mountains encase this little body of water allows the winds to bring unusually dangerous storms very swiftly. The disciples fight with all their might to save themselves. Water is flooding the boat much faster than they can bail it out. Their attempts to rescue themselves are in vain despite being experienced fisherman. They are scared meanwhile Jesus sleeps. Finally, when all else fails, someone remembers the presence of the Savior and they wake him from his slumber. They rouse him with a question. I have written a short sentence beside what they said in my Bible. My note says, “The world’s most stupid question”. Here is their question.
Mark 4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
“Master, don’t you care that we are about to die?”
Jesus wakes and walks to the front of the boat and speaks to the storm, “Peace, be still.” The wind stops blowing and the sea stand still at the command of their creator. He is capable of stopping the storm even faster than it came.
Let’s look at that question those disciples asked him, “Don’t you care?”
Oh, he cares!
When talking about our suffering and the love of God the apostle Paul quoted verse 22 from today’s reading. Look at what he said.
Romans 8:35–39
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our suffering does not separate us from his love.
His care is what carries us through.
I heard it said that someone asked Jesus,“how much do you love me?”
He stretched both arms straight out to the sides and said, “this much”. If you question his care, then I ask you by faith to look at his cross.
I am reminded another time when the Lord lay still. He had shown his love by dying and his body slept in a sepulcher three days, but he arose for our help so that he could redeem us for his mercies sake.
Sometimes we forget he is there and cares
Reminds me of a favorite song
He truly is the God Who Stays
https://youtu.be/QPwd_TQpsHY