The birth of my firstborn son was over 23 years ago, yet I remember details from that day like it was yesterday. The warmth of his body at birth, the weight of him as the Dr laid him on my abdomen, the lights in the room, the expression on my young husband’s face.
Birth feels like a beginning. Yet for God it is a continuation. God knew His own from the foundation of the world and has numbered every one of your days. He knew you before you knew Him.
The psalmist in Psalm 22 reminds himself of this in his suffering and no doubt Jesus was encouraged by the reminder of this eternal perspective as He suffered on the cross for our eternal salvation.
Take time to pray as you open the Word of God.
Thank you for your Word, Lord, will you reveal yourself to me through it? Amen.
Now let’s look closely at Psalm 22:9-13.
Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breast. on you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
The psalmist had just penned the words about others ridiculing him and now he remembers YET you. Yet the Lord. Regardless of what others think and say and even do, yet You, Lord.
As we notice what this is saying about God we see His eternal eyes on the baby being knit in a womb. God, the knitter of bodies and souls, is attentive to every moment of development. He knew you and saw you before any other eyes fell on you.
God is always God, regardless of what we believe about Him.
I spent 23 years blind to the truth of God, that made Him no less real or powerful. My lack of attention on Him did not lessen His attention on me.
The psalmist recognizes this and prays for God to remain near to him in the trouble he is navigating and the stubborn bulls encompassing him. Surely this image was clear in the mind of Christ as He hung on the cross, fully carrying the weight of sin and being tormented by the ravening and roaring lion, who seeks to kill and destroy, the devil himself.
These words from the pen of a troubled psalmist teach us that God is always present with us, even before we are aware of it. And regardless of the suffering and trials we are navigating, He is not far from us. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, when we surrender to Him, we can be confident to approach the Throne of Glory (Hebrews 4:16).
As we consider how we might do what God is teaching us here, let’s ask Him what it means for us in our life today for Him to be near regardless of what we see around us. Pray through your current sufferings or trials or even concerns you are carrying. Then imagine yourself in the hand of God through it all. He is that near to you today.
How might that change the perspective you hold as you interact with others, do your job, or carry out your responsibilities?