LESSON FOR THE JUNIOR CLASSES
STUDY SCRIPTURE:
PSALM22:1-11
Key Verse
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Far from my help are the words of my groaning”.
Psalm 22:1
INTRODUCTION
We all have dreams. We desire many things and these change over time as we grow up. This sometimes confuse us because we are taught we should pray to God and He will hear us and grant us our desires, especially those things that are good for us.
The problem for young and growing people as well as for adults is that they all want to get what they ask for “now”, not tomorrow. But God often has other intentions and He has other plans for us. Sometimes He allows the pressures on us brought by these desires to teach us lessons of patience and lessons of faith. These will make us able to teach others about the goodness of God, and how He takes us through some unpleasant experiences so that we can tell others of how God us through the storms of life.
In our Lesson the king of Israel David, who was called the Sweet Singer of Israel because he wrote many of the Psalms, wrote Psalm 22 recounting in detail of a bad experience which was so bad that he thought God had not been listening to his prayers for help. This Psalm is so clear and gave such great descriptions of what someone suffering and asking for help which did not come felt, that it was believed to tell of the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was nailed to the Cross and died in order to provide the way of salvation for people who would repent of their sins and come to Him for help. Jesus is the only one who can save and this Psalm points to Jesus as the only Saviour and Redeemer.
This Psalm is therefore a Psalm of prophecy and it is not like some of the other Psalms that encourage believers by showing them life can be beautiful most of the time. Here we are told the palmist is in desperate trouble. His enemies are closing in on him. He cries to God for help for God is the only one that can help and save him. But no matter how much he cries there is no answer. But he remembered that his foreparents and those that established the nation often had troubles and they cried to God. God always helped them.The psalm writer therefore remembered that God was always present and not far away from him, even though he felt that he was too lowly to press God to help him. He though he was lowly like a worm.
But then he remembered again that God was with him from the time he was born, and God took him from his mother’s womb. He was precious in the sight of God. So he again prayed and begged God to help him as he had helped the children of God in the past.
We must remember we are children of God, placed in His family, and we are precious to God. He will never forsake us. God will always listen. He might not help immediately because us to like David, have to learn to trust in Him at all times. But remember God is always close by.
This Psalm is considered to tell us how Jesus felt when He was dying on the Cross to redeem us of our sins. The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and john tell us of incidents that happened to Jesus when He was on the Cross suffering terribly. He cried out to His Father, but His Father had to leave Jesus to bear the sins of men alone for He was to be the Saviour. He died alone.
So we keep in thanking Jesus for His great work for us, and the salvation He brought to us. So keep on praying for help. God always hears and He will always protect you and bring deliverance and happiness.