1 00:00:10,830 --> 00:00:13,300 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Crosswalk Divisional. We're so glad to have 2 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,900 Speaker 1: you as a listener. Today's topic is Clinging to God 3 00:00:17,020 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 1: When Life Feels Uncertain. We'll be right back with a 4 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:36,300 Speaker 1: brief message from our sponsor. Clinging to God When Life 5 00:00:36,340 --> 00:00:40,600 Speaker 1: Feels Uncertain, written by Laura Bailey, read by Laura Bailey. 6 00:00:41,260 --> 00:00:44,400 Speaker 1: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why 7 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,260 Speaker 1: are you so far from saving me, so far from 8 00:00:47,300 --> 00:00:52,650 Speaker 1: my cries of anguish? Psalm 22, 1, NIV. Mom, why 9 00:00:52,690 --> 00:00:55,690 Speaker 1: did God abandon David when he needed him most? My 10 00:00:55,750 --> 00:00:59,710 Speaker 1: youngest daughter asked before bedtime. Earlier in the day, we'd 11 00:00:59,730 --> 00:01:02,700 Speaker 1: gone to see a movie about David's life. My girls 12 00:01:02,740 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: were familiar with the general story of David as king, 13 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,320 Speaker 1: but the movie, which focused on David's transition from shepherd 14 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:14,010 Speaker 1: to the king of Israel, raised many questions. I thought 15 00:01:14,050 --> 00:01:18,069 Speaker 1: about my daughter's question in more detail. Often, we think of, 16 00:01:18,630 --> 00:01:22,510 Speaker 1: and teach our children, David as the slayer of Goliath, 17 00:01:22,830 --> 00:01:26,420 Speaker 1: or as the mighty king. We linger on the fulfillment 18 00:01:26,459 --> 00:01:31,060 Speaker 1: of God's promises to David— protection, prosperity, and promotion to king— 19 00:01:31,950 --> 00:01:34,530 Speaker 1: And while it's important to draw our children's focus to 20 00:01:34,870 --> 00:01:37,940 Speaker 1: God keeping his promise, we also need to share the 21 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: hard parts of David's journey, the testing of his faith, 22 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:48,060 Speaker 1: and God's faithfulness. For starters, the prophet Samuel anointed David 23 00:01:48,140 --> 00:01:50,550 Speaker 1: as the future king when he was just a teenager, 24 00:01:51,010 --> 00:01:54,870 Speaker 1: yet David didn't take the throne until he was almost 30. 25 00:01:54,870 --> 00:01:58,810 Speaker 1: Historians estimate David became king about 15 to 20 years 26 00:01:59,490 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: after Samuel's pronouncement. when he eventually succeeded Saul. David's life 27 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,460 Speaker 1: involved a lot of uncertainty and waiting on God. The 28 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,780 Speaker 1: scene that prompted my daughter's question was inspired by Psalm 22. 29 00:02:13,780 --> 00:02:18,350 Speaker 1: With words and phrases like forsaken, cry out, far from saving, 30 00:02:18,370 --> 00:02:21,790 Speaker 1: you do not answer, it can be easy to think 31 00:02:21,830 --> 00:02:25,290 Speaker 1: that God had indeed forgotten David, or at the very 32 00:02:25,350 --> 00:02:28,609 Speaker 1: least wasn't with him in the wilderness. I shared with 33 00:02:28,669 --> 00:02:30,950 Speaker 1: my daughter that just because David was going through a 34 00:02:30,990 --> 00:02:34,980 Speaker 1: hard time didn't mean that God had neglected him. God 35 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: promised to make David king and he would eventually fulfill 36 00:02:38,780 --> 00:02:43,239 Speaker 1: that promise. Let's look at the closing verses of Psalm 22. 37 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,100 Speaker 1: I said to my daughter, grabbing my Bible. Psalms 22, 38 00:02:47,090 --> 00:02:51,290 Speaker 1: 22 through 23 says, I will declare your name to 39 00:02:51,330 --> 00:02:54,750 Speaker 1: my people. In the assembly, I will praise you. You 40 00:02:54,850 --> 00:02:58,640 Speaker 1: who fear the Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, 41 00:02:58,860 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: honor him, revere him. All you descendants of Israel. We 42 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:09,380 Speaker 1: can openly bring our doubts, questions, concerns, and grievances to 43 00:03:09,410 --> 00:03:13,820 Speaker 1: the Lord, yet we shouldn't leave them there. Our petitions 44 00:03:13,970 --> 00:03:17,270 Speaker 1: should ultimately lead us to praise, as we see in 45 00:03:17,330 --> 00:03:22,450 Speaker 1: David's prayer. The first three verses of Psalm 22 are 46 00:03:22,490 --> 00:03:27,970 Speaker 1: filled with angst, confusion, and general frustration. over his current circumstances. 47 00:03:28,770 --> 00:03:32,310 Speaker 1: But through his prayer, David turns his problems into praise. 48 00:03:33,370 --> 00:03:35,550 Speaker 1: How can one give gratitude to God in the most 49 00:03:35,590 --> 00:03:41,450 Speaker 1: dire of situations? Because he remembers who God is. Most importantly, 50 00:03:41,590 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: he rests confidently in the assurance that God will keep 51 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: his promise to deliver David and ultimately his people. While 52 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: God had something good planned for David's life, that didn't 53 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,930 Speaker 1: mean his life would be easy or without hardship. The 54 00:03:55,990 --> 00:03:58,370 Speaker 1: majority of the Psalms were written while David was fleeing 55 00:03:58,410 --> 00:04:01,890 Speaker 1: from Saul, and a few when his own son was 56 00:04:01,930 --> 00:04:04,850 Speaker 1: trying to kill him. While David felt like God had 57 00:04:04,890 --> 00:04:08,030 Speaker 1: abandoned him, the truth was that God was always with him. 58 00:04:08,050 --> 00:04:11,250 Speaker 1: And God is always with you too, I shared with 59 00:04:11,310 --> 00:04:14,570 Speaker 1: my little girl. On the good days and the bad days, 60 00:04:15,070 --> 00:04:18,350 Speaker 1: he is there. I easily forget that the God of 61 00:04:18,390 --> 00:04:20,790 Speaker 1: the mountains is the God of the valley, and no 62 00:04:20,830 --> 00:04:25,050 Speaker 1: matter my circumstances, he hears my cries. Just as with David, 63 00:04:25,150 --> 00:04:27,409 Speaker 1: there will be times when I feel alone, but God 64 00:04:27,450 --> 00:04:30,730 Speaker 1: never forsakes His children. He is always working for my 65 00:04:30,770 --> 00:04:35,390 Speaker 1: good and His glory. Intersecting Faith and Life If you 66 00:04:35,430 --> 00:04:39,670 Speaker 1: currently feel forgotten by God, read Psalm 139, 7-12 and 67 00:04:39,730 --> 00:04:43,510 Speaker 1: write down what it says about God's presence. For further reading, 68 00:04:44,330 --> 00:04:47,860 Speaker 1: check out 1 Samuel 16, Psalm 22. 69 00:04:52,190 --> 00:04:54,690 Speaker 2: If you're looking to grow in prayer or start your 70 00:04:54,730 --> 00:04:56,589 Speaker 2: day with your heart focused on the right things, search 71 00:04:56,630 --> 00:04:58,990 Speaker 2: for Your Daily Prayer in your favorite podcast app and 72 00:04:59,010 --> 00:05:22,860 Speaker 2: be sure to follow the show so you get a 73 00:05:22,940 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 2: new prayer delivered straight to you each morning. 74 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:36,589 Speaker 3: Hey friends, it's Kelly from Life Audio. We just launched 75 00:05:36,650 --> 00:05:40,310 Speaker 3: something new. It's called The Good Word, our free weekly 76 00:05:40,370 --> 00:05:43,250 Speaker 3: newsletter built for people who want to go a little 77 00:05:43,290 --> 00:05:49,140 Speaker 3: deeper in their faith. Think devotionals, guided prayers, curated podcast recommendations, 78 00:05:49,300 --> 00:05:52,420 Speaker 3: and a little community all in one place. No ads, 79 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,230 Speaker 3: just good content. This one means a lot to us. 80 00:05:55,630 --> 00:05:58,370 Speaker 3: We built The Good Word based on the audience survey 81 00:05:58,630 --> 00:06:00,850 Speaker 3: so many of you filled out a few months back. 82 00:06:01,130 --> 00:06:03,690 Speaker 3: You told us what you wanted and we listened. So 83 00:06:03,750 --> 00:06:06,700 Speaker 3: thank you truly for helping us shape this. Head to 84 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:09,300 Speaker 3: the link in the show notes and join our community today. 85 00:06:09,620 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 3: We'd love to have you.