As we study David’s life-threatening circumstances in Ps. 22, we will probably be provoked to raise this question: What’s the purpose of the waiting and the human sensation of distance from God? Does our God just enjoy suspense, while watching his people squirm? OR are his purposes and timing based upon working in the most impactful way in his people to get the maximum glory for himself? Well, if he just enjoyed suspense, then it doesn’t make sense that God would reveal to us how it all ends, nor would he give us the guarantee in Christ over our greatest enemy—death.
Furthermore, we saw some great insight to that question from 2nd Cor. 1. Why not keep Paul from despairing of life and receiving the sentence of death? The answer—to make us rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. And then what happens when it’s so blatantly obvious that God was the one who delivered his servants—v.11—many will give thanks on our behalf. God is committed to receiving praise for his deliverance. This is why it’s essential that we do not draw conclusions based on our sense of God’s nearness, but rather based on truth from God, namely that he is shaping our lives for our greatest good in order to receive maximum glory for himself. This is why we exist and why we have received the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and this is exactly what takes place in Ps. 22.