Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Psalms 44:22 ESV

          Psalms 44 is one that certainly gets your attention and causes many questions to be asked. How can there be victory after victory in our lives and then find ourselves in a struggle, where it seems that God has abandoned us with cause?

          That is where David is at in this Psalm. The Psalm begins with a focus on God’s faithfulness in past generations:

O God, we have heard with our ears,
    our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
    in the days of old:  Psalms 44:1-3

          David also declares the Lord’s presence and intervention in the present:

But you have saved us from our foes
    and have put to shame those who hate us. Psalms 44:7

          Now there is a drastic and unexpected and unreasonable change. The God who was faithful to God’s people in the past and showed Himself powerful and fighting for His people in the present, seem to have abandon them.

But you have rejected us and disgraced us
    and have not gone out with our armies.
You have made us turn back from the foe,
    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
You have made us like sheep for slaughter
    and have scattered us among the nations. Psalms 44:9-11

          The dire situation that God’s people find themselves in, is not due to sin and rebellion or a failure to keep God’s covenants.

All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    and we have not been false to your covenant.
Our heart has not turned back,
    nor have our steps departed from your way; Psalms 44:17, 18

          God’s people believe they have not changed, but God suddenly has. This is not like the sin of Achan after the defeat of Jericho, where there was sin in the camp. Why has God all of a sudden not come through with His part of the bargain?

          But the Psalm ends with David crying out to the Lord and seeking deliverance once again.

Rise up; come to our help!
    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love! Psalms 44:26

As I consider this Psalm, several thoughts come to mind. Why doesn’t the Lord always provide victory and never let us suffer hardship or defeat? Job faced a challenge when, as a righteous man, he suffered greatly. His response to his wife is telling.

Job said to her, “You’re talking like a foolish woman. Will we receive good from God but not also receive bad?” In all this, Job didn’t sin with his lips. Job 2:10 CEB

Perhaps David, like many of us today, believed that if we do our part, the Lord is committed to doing His part? It is easy to take the Lord’s provision for granted. Is there a reason for times of distress and testing? What can we learn when we are on the “losing side” for a season?

          I don’t know all that this Psalm has in mind, but we do see that David does not allow the present circumstances of his life to change his trust in the Lord, and he asks the Lord to change the circumstances that God’s people are facing.

          My takeaway from this Psalm is that we are reminded that times of difficulty will come. We are to remain faithful. We are to be reminded that God’s grace and favor are not to be taken for granted or to be confused with our spiritual commitment. We are called to remain faithful in times of victory and times of testing. We can pour out our hearts to the Lord and seek Him always. The challenge is not to always find out the “why” but to maintain our trust and faith.