“Why Have You Forsaken Me?”
Psalm 22:1-8
Sunday, June 20, 2010

Introduction: In life there will be times when we are looking for someone to help us. We think we want to be independent, but if we were completely independent, then we would be very lonely. The truth is we get into situations where it is helpful to have someone there to assist us; really to deliver us. WE NEED A DELIVERER. A couple of weeks ago, when I was in the airport, I was glad for the many security guards who are making sure that the airport and the plane flight is safe from terrorists. When you go to a hospital, you are glad to see a skilled physician capable of taking care of you. If you need a lawyer, it is important to find the help of one who is very capable. In their own ways, they can be deliverers for us.
Even more, we need a deliver from problems greater than these. There are spiritual problems we face that are bigger than what a lawyer, a doctor, even a minister can handle. This morning in our “Great Questions of the Bible” series, we look at the question: “Why Have You Forsaken Me?”

I. The Psalmist Cries Out- (Psalm 22:1-8; Matthew 27:46)
a. Feeling forsaken- The psalmist, King David, starts out with the
question of the day: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” To be forsaken, one has to feel like they have been unhelped and unheard. David is crying out to God for help, and feeling like he has been abandoned. Whatever his condition is, he needs help, but he feels like God is not answering his call; God is choosing not to help him.
This is different than last week’s question, where the Israelites questioned if God even existed. David here knows that God exists, but for some reason is choosing not to help. The cry is by day and by not; it is constant. And because of this, David is not at rest; David is not at peace; David is in great distress.
And is this not similar to Christ on the cross? Christ Himself called out this same question in Matthew 27:46. On the cross Christ was feeling great distress and pain and heartache. He felt like He needed a deliverer; someone to help him in His time of need. But God had turned His face from Christ due to the sin of the world placed upon Him. At that moment God, being holy, could not even look upon Christ. In this way Christ, our Savior Himself, knows what we feel when we feel like we have been forsaken; when we are walking in great pain with no relief in sight!
b. God saves His people- David then gives some contrast
when he gets to verse 3, where he not only acknowledges the attributes of God (being holy and enthroned in heaven), but also acknowledges how God delivered David’s ancestors. This is a common theme in the Old Testament, where there is acknowledgement of God freeing the Israelites from their slavery. The contrast is evident: God freed his ancestors, but is not there to free him.
In verses 3 to 5 we see that David, deep down knows that God is not inhuman, unjust, or unkind. This is what is causing him great confusion. God is one who saves His people. God is one who exhibits great love. God is one who is just. For these reasons He doesn’t understand why God will not come to his aid.
He recognizes that God’s glory was seen in the freeing of the Israelites in Egypt. Because of this they were not put to shame. They trusted in God, and they were delivered. So you see the back and forth thinking, as David looks at how God answered the Israelites cry, but is seeming to be silent now.
Haven’t you felt that at times? I know I have. I feel like I’m experiencing a problem that needs God’s help. So I go to the Lord, just like He asks, and I call out to Him for help. But He doesn’t seem to answer. So I question if He has heard, or if He really cares about me and my situation. In those times, I too feel forsaken.
c. I am but human- Because of this there is great lament by David.
His problem is so overwhelming for him that he responds in verses 6 & 7: “But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by people. All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads.” These are extremely descriptive words. He likens himself to a worm; one who is scorned, despised, and mocked. When people see him they just shake their head at him.
It is not uncommon for people to think so lowly of themselves when they are depressed or feel as if things are hopeless. Without the Lord there to help him, he feels hopeless. He imagines himself lower than any human being, so low that he is not human, but a mere worm. It’s almost as if he feels that he deserves to be trampled on like a worm, or he deserves the scorn he receives from others.
In my ministry I have come across people in this frame of mind. It would be easy for me to dismiss their thinking, or just tell them to snap out of it. But what they think and what they feel about themselves is real. And with the thought that God is not there to help, there is really no hope for their lives. In this place they imagine that everyone else around them feels the same about them as they do!
d. Commit your cause to the Lord- Yet, even in the depths of despair,
David does not give up hope. David still believes in who God is, and what God can do for those who put their faith in Him. David stays faithful in a way similar to Job. We see this as he utters the words in verse 8: “Commit your cause to the Lord; let Him deliver—let Him rescue the one in whom He delights.” ‘Commit your cause to the Lord….’ David says. Whatever that cause may be (finances, improved relationships, need for a job), commit it to the Lord.
There is a wonderful picture about prayer that I love. The picture is this: on the one hand, we tend to seek to give our prayers and concerns to the Lord with palms face up; but when the Lord reaches out to take them from us, we quickly close our hands and draw back. We don’t seem ready to truly give them over to the Lord. INSTEAD, we need to give our prayers and concerns to God with palms facing down, so that when we open our hands to give them to God, they fall away, and we cannot snatch them back!!
More often than not, we think we have given our causes to God, only to realize that we are still holding onto them. God cannot and will not rescue us until we have humbled ourselves before Him, and give ourselves over to Him. It is then that the Lord can rescue and deliver us. It is then that He delights in us, because we have allowed God to be in that full relationship with us, and we with Him.

II. How Does God’s Help Come?- (Philemon 1:1-22; Proverbs 3:5-6)
Story: “A Tale of Two Students,” (Reality Changers)- Chris Yanov is the name of one of my old high school students in my ministry at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Camarillo, California. Chris always had a deep faith and a yearning to do something great for God. Even as a student he was planning activities that would draw non-Christian kids. A number of years ago he established a ministry in San Diego called “Reality Changers.” The mission statement for Reality Changers reads: “The mission of Reality Changers is to provide inner-city youth from disadvantaged backgrounds with the resources to become first generation college students by supplying academic support, financial assistance, and faith-based leadership training.”
Chris has affected many kids’ lives; changed their lives forever. Let me give you an example of one student whose life he has changed, and one who chose not to let it be changed; two kids whose lives were so similar, but have now become so much different… JULIO: was born on September 21, 1988. He lived on 29th and A street in a one bedroom apartment. There were 5 people that lived in this apartment. In seventh and eighth grade he would sit next to his friend named Miguel. His middle school GPA was 1.17. Between the eighth and ninth grades he joined Reality Changers. As part of Reality Changers he had a chance to go to the University of California at San Diego’s Academic Connections and to Forest Home Christian camp. He started taking ESL classes, and was able to move into the advanced placement classes in high school. After high school he got an all expense paid scholarship to attend UC Santa Barbara. The yearly cost of his tuition was $25,000 a year. He became the first person in his family to ever graduate from college.
On the other side you have MIGUEL: was born on the same day, September 21, 1988. He lived on 28th and A street in a one bedroom apartment. There were 5 people that lived in this apartment. In seventh and eighth grade he sat next to Julio. His middle school GPA was 1.17 as well. Between the eighth and ninth grades, he chose not to join Reality Changers. During his high school years he spent much of his time ditching class and selling drugs. He dropped out of school in the eleventh grade and not too long after he was arrested and jailed for first-degree murder. The yearly cost for him in jail is $49,000 a year. He has been given 50 years to life.
Such a difference between two kids, who grew up right next to each other, but whose lives took different paths. Why the difference? I believe it is because one sought out God (although not directly at first), and the other didn’t! These 2 lives give us a good example in answering the question Where does our help come? Ultimately, it needs to come from God, but in those times when it feels that God has forsaken us, there are other places where God is actually sending us help.
a. God’s help comes from others- One place where help comes is
from others. God uses other people to work in people’s lives. God used Chris Yanov in Julio’s life. When we are not aware of this help, then we think God has forsaken us. In the Bible we see this time and time again. And often the help comes from a person you might not expect. Like Saul, a Christian hater, who was healed through prayer and given his calling by a Christian named Ananias. If Ananias had had not been obedient to the Lord, or Saul had not been willing to receive Ananias’ help, then Saul would not have received the help he needed.
Or Onesimus, who was a slave who was mistreated by his master Philemon. As a Christian he did not feel that he should be treated in this manner, so he ran away. The apostle Paul wrote a letter to Philemon telling him to welcome Onesimus back without punishment, and to treat him as more than a slave, but as a Christian brother.
God puts people in our lives all the time, who are there to help us as if it were God Himself helping us out. We have to be aware of how God is using others in our lives, and how God wants to use us to help people as well.
b. God’s help comes from ourselves- Along with other people, God
gives us the ability to help ourselves. Julio helped himself by getting involved in Reality Changers, whereas Miguel did not. There are many times in life where we can choose to help ourselves, or not. How many people are capable of working, but do not seek to work, and then complain that they don’t have the money to sustain themselves? How often do we see people complain about having no friends, but they constantly are isolating themselves? How often do people complain about their life, but they aren’t becoming active in ways that will better themselves?
God gives us gifts when we become a Christian, and these gifts can really alter our lives. These gifts alter our lives in that they allow us to do great things for the kingdom of God, and give our lives purpose. These gifts alter our lives in that they can lead us to the place and/or the job God wants us to have, and in doing this work we are more fulfilled. They alter our lives by putting us in a place where God can reach us, and deliver us, and rescue us.
c. God’s help comes from choices- Thirdly, God helps us by leading
us to make good choices. So many problems that people face are because of their own poor choices. Maybe they’ve chosen the wrong person to marry, and this person has led them to great despair. Maybe they have spent their money foolishly, or invested their money in the wrong place, and it has led them to financial ruin. Maybe they have chosen to start taking drugs, and the drugs have ruined their life.
Julio chose Reality Changers. Julio chose to go to the UCSD academic connections. Julio chose to go to Forest Home. Julio chose to improve his grades, take an ESL class, and seek a scholarship. Julio chose to do his work, try hard, and go to college. Consequently, Julio is on a path of blessing.
Miguel chose to not get involved with Reality Changers. Miguel chose to not work hard in school. Miguel chose a life of drugs and gang violence. And now Miguel will probably spend the rest of his life in jail!
Proverbs 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
d. God’s help comes from opportunities- One of the great questions
for a Christian is: “What is God’s will for my life?” More often than not, God does not give us the answer to that question straight out, but rather a little bit at a time. God opens this door and closes that door. God give us this opportunity, and helps us to see the possibilities that lie ahead of us. The question is, are we going to have eyes to see? Are we going to have the determination to persevere in the difficult times? Are we going to be able to walk forward when the time comes?
If you talk to many people who feel that they are successful, they will tell you that they are successful because they took advantage of the opportunities they have. Now not everybody has the same opportunities, but those who trust in the Lord will definitely have opportunities.
EX. In the movie “The Blind Side,” it is a story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who got an opportunity to go to a private Christian school. While at that school he was befriended by the Tuohy family. He also got the opportunity to play football. These opportunities led him to be able to go to college on a football scholarship, and then become an All American football player, and a first round NFL draft pick…. God gave Michael Oher opportunities, and he took advantage of them. He could have complained about the terrible life he had before he met the Tuohy’s, but he didn’t!

Conclusion: Where in your life do you feel like God has forsaken you? Maybe you feel like you have so many problems, and you have had them for so long, that it feels like God has left you to become like a worm. Because God’s answers are not the same as ours, God’s timing is not the same either. If you are feeling forsaken, you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself, and make yourself ready for the people, the choices, and the opportunities that God will give you. They will come. Just be ready!
Maybe you don’t feel like God has forsaken you. I hope this sermon can be encouragement to you for that time when you might feel this way. Even more, that you will use the information in this sermon to be prepared to help someone who does fell this way. Let us commit our cause to the Lord, and know that in all things, and in all ways, He will deliver us, and rescue us from our troubles. AMEN!