Psalm 22:10 - Utter helplessness; Complete dependence

 As I write this at 10 PM on October 14, my wife and I (as well as the rest of our family) are anxiously waiting for our daughter--hundreds of miles away--to give birth to her first baby, our first grandchild.

There have been some serious complications with the pregnancy, and many anxious, long-distance prayers have been offered for both the mother and unborn infant.

Despite all the medical technology and the skill of doctors and nurses, life is so very fragile even in the best of circumstances. That reality is heightened when there are complications, but the fact is that even in a "normal" labor and delivery, it is God who creates and sustains life.

Life was slipping away from Jesus when he quoted the first verse of Psalm 22. From the cross, Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?" He knew the rest of the psalm, even though He quoted only the first verse.

Verse 10 in that same psalm says:
"Upon You I was cast from birth;
You have been my God from my mother's womb."

Even though His birth was miraculous, Jesus Himself was helpless as a baby. Recalling how God the Father had sustained Him from birth must have strengthened His faith, even on the cross.

That kind of faith is reborn with each generation that finds its strength in God. So the psalm ends:
"Posterity will serve Him; It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They will come and will declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has performed it." (verses 30-31)

In birth, in life, in death: may it be our delight and strength to lean utterly upon You, our Creator, our Sustainer, and our Salvation. Bless our children and our children's children with Your righteousness... especially Dorothy Rose Wurpts. Amen