Broken Hope

Broken Hope

In You they trusted and were not disappointed. Ps 22:5

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Psalm 22:1-6

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;

you are the praise of Israel.

4 In you our fathers put their trust;

they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;

in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by men and despised by the people.

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The professor, Wolf Wolfensberger, had just concluded his carefully crafted list of
15 or 16 wounds that many developmentally challenged individuals face.

Judy Snow was seated at the front of the class in her electric wheelchair. Before the
class could leave, she caught Wolf’s eye and informed him that he had missed one.
He was used to being the expert and was not expecting such a correction. Judy went
on to state that she thought it was the worse wound of them all. When asked what
wound that might be, she said, “When you end up hating yourself.”

Let that sink in! The Psalmist would have inserted the word ‘Selah’ here.

Judy is an articulate, intelligent lady. Her disability requires that she hire personal
attendants to care for her needs. She has no personal privacy and she deals daily
with circumstances that would cause any of us great personal embarrassment.
Although I first met Judy over 20 years ago, she has continued to live life
with personal dignity and she has been an effective advocate for
people with physical disabilities.

David says something that is every bit as powerful as Judy’s observation.
He says, “I am a worm and not a man.” Christians refer to this chapter as a prophetic
description of our Saviour at Calvary. However, David did write these words.
He was obviously writing from some level of personal experience. Although he
knew that his forefathers had trusted in the Lord and had not been disappointed,
he was, at the moment, in misery and feeling entirely worthless.

David did not stay here. God placed people in his life and circumstances changed.
Likewise, Paul was confused and blind following his conversion; then God placed
Ananias in Paul’s life and everything changed.

Have you stopped to think that you and I have a wonderful opportunity to break
through the pain and disappointment experienced by someone else? There are
people in our circle of influence whom God has chosen for you and me to help.

As a follower of Jesus, people have the privilege, yes the huge privilege,
of being His hands and His voice in ministering to others.

So whether we are family, friends, caregivers or part of the behind-the-scenes
resources, we are given this day to celebrate our God and to share His love with
others. “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers
of mine, you did for me.”(Mt 25:40) May God help you and me to identify those
who are feeling like ‘the least’ so that we can enrich their lives today.

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Heavenly Father, our society is broken. People are broken. There are so many who
seem to have no hope. There are many, many others who have sought distraction
from their difficulties through drugs, alcohol or chasing meaningless but pleasurable
experiences. Help me to understand their dilemma and lead me in a way that
can bring hope and encouragement to those in need of it. Amen.

- Noel Churchman

Noel was the Executive Director of Christian Horizons form 1976 to 2001. The devotionals we will be using are from a book he wrote in 2005 called “Walking with God”. Noel’s reflections are grounded in his experiences as an educator, and provider of supports for individuals with exceptional needs as well as his life as a dedicated follower of Christ.