“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me …? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.”
Psalm 22:1-2
Whether your life is sunny or stormy right now, there are times when these words bear your broken heart before the Lord. It is inevitable that you will know firsthand the feeling of being forsaken. Why? Because we were made for Eden but inhabit a wilderness world with wilderness hearts.
And it is not wrong to feel this way, otherwise it wouldn’t be expressed in this psalm. Each of us carries a soul wound deep within us. There we find our sin, our suffering, and our shame. It is a wound that cries for healing and hungers for a better place, where all is as it should be.
Jesus brought our soul wounds to the cross. How do we know? Because He repeated these opening words on the cross in our place and on our behalf. His cries contained the tears of endless multitudes over countless generations, including yours and mine. In this month’s devotional, we will bear these wounds to the cross and ponder our wound-bearer upon the cross. The more we grasp what our suffering Savior has done for us, the more we are able to go through the wounds and not around them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chaplain (Major) Stephen L. Roberts
Stephen Roberts serves soldiers and families in the U.S. Army, writes for Modern Reformation and Core Christianity, and currently is pursuing his Doctor of Ministry degree at Birmingham Theological Seminary. He has been a treasured counselor, pastor, and friend to countless enlisted soldiers and is a beloved Anchor writer (this is his 8th publication for Haven). Stephen is married to Lindsey, a fellow writer and Anchor contributor. Together they have three exuberant children: Seth (13), Tabitha (11), and Canaan (5).
And it is not wrong to feel this way, otherwise it wouldn’t be expressed in this psalm. Each of us carries a soul wound deep within us. There we find our sin, our suffering, and our shame. It is a wound that cries for healing and hungers for a better place, where all is as it should be.
Jesus brought our soul wounds to the cross. How do we know? Because He repeated these opening words on the cross in our place and on our behalf. His cries contained the tears of endless multitudes over countless generations, including yours and mine. In this month’s devotional, we will bear these wounds to the cross and ponder our wound-bearer upon the cross. The more we grasp what our suffering Savior has done for us, the more we are able to go through the wounds and not around them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chaplain (Major) Stephen L. Roberts
Stephen Roberts serves soldiers and families in the U.S. Army, writes for Modern Reformation and Core Christianity, and currently is pursuing his Doctor of Ministry degree at Birmingham Theological Seminary. He has been a treasured counselor, pastor, and friend to countless enlisted soldiers and is a beloved Anchor writer (this is his 8th publication for Haven). Stephen is married to Lindsey, a fellow writer and Anchor contributor. Together they have three exuberant children: Seth (13), Tabitha (11), and Canaan (5).
Scripture Focus
Psalm 22:1-11
Insight
We’ll do this, knowing that His cries—though unheeded at the time—found their response in our healing and the final cry of “It is finished.”
Bible In A Year
- 1 Chronicles 14-15
- Proverbs 31
- Revelation 18-19