Psalm 22:1-8

Psalm 22:1-8 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  We love the uplifting parts of the Bible, where we celebrate the grace and power and healing of God.  When we are joyful, there are ample songs that we can sing and rejoice in God's provision and God's glory.  When life is sunshine and roses, we celebrate the glories of creation and look forward with hope.
  However, life isn't always sunshine and roses, and one of the things I love about the Bible is that there is room for those experiences as well.  These are the words Jesus quoted from the cross.  When life is going against you and the walls are closing in, there is a Bible verse for that, and it's real, raw with human emotion and pain and fear.  The Bible doesn't shy away from every part of the human experience -- it embraces it, acknowledges it, and teaches us how to trust God through the experience.
  Watch what happens here -- the Psalmist is wondering where God is, but verses 3-5 demonstrate the trust in the ability of God to save.  The Psalmist wonders where God is, but does so in the midst of trusting God in the bigger picture.  Even in the dark of night, the Psalmist knows that God alone brings light, and even though we can't always understand how this comes together in the end, the implicit trust in the ability and power of God to save is remarkable.
  So I don't know what the darkest channels of your life look like.  They may be bleak and appear without hope.  But God is able, and God is at work, and even in the midst of the pain and struggle, we can trust that the redeeming and delivering God is at work.