Chris Campbell

Deliver me, O Lord, by your hand
from those whose portion in life is this world...

Beloved in the body of Christ,

In our psalms for today we hear the psalmist’s plea for deliverance from his enemies echoing through each, but not as we might expect.

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Often, I feel as though I have been forsaken by God, I cry out for Him and find no answer. Slowly I feel as though the world is closing in on me, working to divide all that I have, all that I am. Like the psalmist, my heart melts in my chest, and I feel alone, unnaturally so. "I am a worm and no man…."

So how is it that, in this state, the psalmist sees hope? How am I to find this hope as well? In praise. "My soul shall live for Him…."

It is not in this world that our deliverance is promised. Those whose bellies are filled with God's treasures in this world are not the ones who will delight in the face of the Lord. "For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; but when they cry to him he hears them."

It is for the poor, those who cry to God, who suffer as He did, that the psalmist speaks of: "But at my vindication I shall see your face; when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness."

This is why hope lies in praise. We may feel forsaken in life, but in the grave, God will not forsake us. In death He will awaken us and we will delight. For He "will show [us] the path of life; in [His] presence there is fullness of joy, and in [His] right hand are pleasures for evermore."

May you live in Truth, Peace, and Love,

Chris Campbell