Psalm 44
1We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old. 2With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out. 3For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them. 4You are my King, O God, who ordains victories for Jacob. 5Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies. 6For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me. 7For You save us from our enemies; You put those who hate us to shame. 8In God we have boasted all day long, and Your name we will praise forever. Selah 9But You have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go forth with our armies. 10You have made us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have plundered us. 11You have given us up as sheep to be devoured; You have scattered us among the nations. 12You sell Your people for nothing; no profit do You gain from their sale. 13You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and derision to those around us. 14You have made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. 15All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face, 16at the voice of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy, bent on revenge. 17All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten You or betrayed Your covenant. 18Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path. 19But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals; You have covered us with deepest darkness. 20If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, 21would not God have discovered, since He knows the secrets of the heart? 22Yet for Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. 23Wake up, O Lord! Why are You sleeping? Arise! Do not reject us forever. 24Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and oppression? 25For our soul has sunk to the dust; our bodies cling to the earth. 26Rise up; be our help! Redeem us on account of Your loving devotion.
Life is short. Where are you going?
You just read God’s own words, and one day every one of us will stand before Him. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This life will be over sooner than you think — do you know where you are going when it is?
The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If you died today, would you be ready?
Are you a good person?
Most of us think we are. But God doesn’t measure us against other people — He measures us by His Law. Look honestly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17):
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
- You shall not make for yourself an idol.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness.
- You shall not covet.
Have you ever told a lie — even a small one? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? Have you ever wanted what belongs to someone else? Jesus said that anyone who looks with lust “has already committed adultery … in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), and the Bible says “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).
If we’re honest, we have all broken God’s Law — and “whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “There is no one righteous, not even one … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12).
That leaves every one of us guilty before a holy God. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). This is why our world is full of tragedy — and without Christ, every life ends in the greatest tragedy of all.
But God made a way
“God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life we never could, and on the cross He took the punishment we deserved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
It’s like standing guilty in court when the judge steps down and pays your fine himself. Forgiveness is a free gift — you can’t earn it: “It is by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus — John 10:10
What will you do with Jesus?
“Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus alone — “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Don’t put it off — “now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
And when you turn to Him, you won’t be met with a frown — you’ll be met with a celebration. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). He is “mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Like the father who ran to embrace his lost son, He is waiting with open arms — and heaven throws a party when you come home (Luke 15:20–24).
If you died today, where would you spend eternity? Today you can be forgiven, made new, and have real, abundant life — now and forever.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.