Psalm 44 Devotional

Faithful and Still Crushed

Psalm 44 starts with memory. The people have heard from their ancestors how God cleared out the nations and planted their fathers in the land. It was not their sword or strength that won it, but God's hand and the light of his face (44:1-3).

Then the psalm turns sharply. God has rejected and humbled them, scattered them, and made them a laughingstock (44:9-14). And here is the hardest part: they have not forgotten God or betrayed his covenant (44:17-18). This is not punishment for a sin they can name. They cry out for God to wake up and ask why he hides his face (44:23-24). The psalm does not answer that question. It lets faithful people say out loud that their suffering makes no sense to them. Paul quotes verse 22 to describe believers who face death for Christ's sake, and in the same breath insists that nothing can separate them from God's love in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:36-39). The psalm's final plea rests on that same love (44:26).

To think about: What suffering in your life does not make sense to you, and could you bring that confusion honestly to God as this psalm does?