Log In Sign Up
Shop
  • Buy Subscriptions
  • The Upper Room Store
  • eCourses
Donate
Upper Room logo
  • Daily
    • Daily Devotional
    • Disciplines
    • Sight Psalms
    • New Every Morning
  • Prayer
    • Request Prayer
    • Prayer Wall
    • Books on Prayer
    • Articles on Prayer
  • Community
    • Walk to Emmaus
    • Chrysalis
    • Face to Face
    • Journey to the Table
    • Academy for Spiritual Formation
    • Discovery Weekend
    • eLearning
    • The Upper Room Chapel
    • International Partners
    • Healing and Resilience
  • Engage
    • Write
    • Donors
    • Volunteer
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Upper Room Books
    • Articles
  • Our Story
    • About
    • History
    • The Upper Room Chapel
    • Upper Room Ministries Blog
    • Help & Support
    • Contact

Disciplines

  • Archives
  • About
  • Submit
  • Subscribe
  • Disciplines
    • Disciplines
    • Archives
    • About
    • Submit
    • Subscribe
October 6, 2021

Lament and Grace

J. R. Daniel Kirk   |   Read Psalm 22:9-15

(Image by: Pixabay)
  • Text Size
  • Comment
  • Share

Share on Socials

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
Lectionary Week
October 4–10, 2021
Scripture Overview

Faithful people still have questions for God. Job wishes he could sit down with God and plead his case because he wants God to justify what has happened to him. The psalmist also feels abandoned by God and wonders why God is not coming to his aid. God can handle our questions. Job wanted an advocate, and Hebrews says that Jesus now fills that role for us. He is our great high priest and understands our sufferings, so we may boldly approach him for help. In Mark, Jesus deals with the challenge of money. It is a powerful force and can come between us and God if we cling to our resources instead of holding them loosely with thanksgiving for God’s provision.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Job 23:1-9, 16-17. When have you, like Eliphaz, attributed your own suffering or that of others to wickedness on your part or on theirs? How often do you find yourself blaming others for the situations in which they find themselves?
Read Psalm 22:1-15. How could your prayer life be more honest and transparent? What feelings do you hold back?
Read Hebrews 4:12-16. When God shines the spotlight on your soul, what does God see?
Read Mark 10:17-31. How do you square your “wealthy” life with Jesus’ call to discipleship?

Respond by posting a prayer .

Psalm 22:9-15

9 But you are the one who pulled me from the womb, placing me safely at my mother’s breasts. 10 I was thrown on you from birth; you’ve been my God since I was in my mother’s womb. 11 Please don’t be far from me, because trouble is near and there’s no one to help. 12 Many bulls surround me; mighty bulls from Bashan encircle me. 13 They open their mouths at me like a lion ripping and roaring! 14 I’m poured out like water. All my bones have fallen apart. My heart is like wax; it melts inside me. 15 My strength is dried up like a piece of broken pottery. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you’ve set me down in the dirt of death.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

Never underestimate the power of the past. In ways that we often are not even aware of, the past shapes our understanding of the present and our hopes and fears about the future. We connect the dots between the past and the present, telling stories that make sense of how...

Father, you have shown us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that there is no length to which you will not go to save and deliver your people. Open your eyes to the pain of the dying, the abused, the trafficked, the lonely, the sick; show yourself to them and the world as the God of all comfort. Amen.


1 Comments
  • Share:

Save as Bookmark

Log In to leave a comment

Loading more

The Upper Room Devotional Celebrates 90th Anniversary

The Upper Room Devotional Celebrates 90th Anniversary

More Than 1.5 Billion Copies Printed Worldwide Since 1935 NASHVILLE, Tenn. May 1, 2025 — The Read More

Related Resources

A Guide for Small Groups

View

Tips for Leaders of Small Groups

View

A Guide to Daily Prayer

View

How to Have a Daily Devotional Time

View

The Upper Room
1908 Grand Avenue
Nashville, TN 37212

Customer support:

800-972-0433

Contact The Upper Room

  • The Upper Room daily devotional
  • Store & Resource Library
  • Upper Room Books
  • Disciplines
  • The Prayer Wall
  • The Academy for Spiritual Formation
  • eLearning
  • The Walk to Emmaus
  • Face to Face
  • Chrysalis
  • Journey to the Table
  • Discovery Weekend
  • Sight Psalms
  • New Every Morning
  • About Us
  • Upper Room Ministries Blog
  • The Upper Room Chapel
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
© Copyright 2025 The Upper Room
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Help & Support

Log In to The Upper Room

Sign in with The Upper Room

or

Sign in with Facebook

Sign in with Apple

Don't have an account? Click here to create an account and sign in.