Psalm 22:1-8 Complete Jewish Bible
22 (0) For the leader. Set to “Sunrise.” A psalm of David:
2 (1) My God! My God!
Why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from helping me,
so far from my anguished cries?
3 (2) My God, by day I call to you,
but you don’t answer;
likewise at night,
but I get no relief.
4 (3) Nevertheless, you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Isra’el.
5 (4) In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted, and you rescued them.
6 (5) They cried to you and escaped;
they trusted in you and were not disappointed.
7 (6) But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
8 (7) All who see me jeer at me;
they sneer and shake their heads:
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Every day, we face a host of crises that try and shake our faith and character.
Confusion denies truth.
Political division ends relationships.
Wars and conflicts stir up fear.
Moral compromise and corruption grows louder, we get a constant pressure to conform to the things of this world.
Our phones and media bombard us with these constant issues.
It becomes easy to give in, react in anger, give up, and lose sight of the eternal reality.
But God doesn’t call us to deal with this darkness alone.
And we’ve been born again for such a time as this.
The Holy Spirit equips us to face the current darkness with both truth and love.
He gives a firm foundation in himself and truth, leading with ways to respond in love, wisdom, bravery, and grace.
He doesn’t lead us to fear but faith in Christ.
We don’t overcome darkness by responding with more darkness.
We overcome it by walking in the Spirit, clinging to God’s presence.
Walking in the Spirit in dark times means refusing fear, staying rooted in God’s love, renewing your mind with truth, depending on His power instead of ours.
This will help us think rightly, show compassion, stand firm in what is good.
What Does It Mean to Walk in the Spirit in Dark Times?
To walk in the Spirit in dark times also means to let God’s presence, truth, and power shape your response instead of fear, anger, or compromise.
It does not mean ignoring darkness.
It means facing it with a Spirit-led life marked by love, surrender, wisdom, courage, and trust in Christ.
Suggested ways to walk in the Spirit in our dark days.
Live from Freedom, not Fear
The Spirit doesn’t drive us through coercion or control.
He leads us into the freedom Christ has already secured for us.
Galatians 5:1 tells us, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
Fear shuts down our minds, allows lies into our hearts.
It causes us to react without thinking, hide from our responsibilities and opportunities, or just conform.
When we walk by the Spirit, we act from an identity, who we are in Christ and his work for us.
We must renew our minds to the reality that Christ has already overcome sin, death, and the world.
That truth frees us from needing to please anyone.
We don’t need to fear loss or compromise biblical standards.
Often, our anxiety says, “What if everything falls apart?”
But with faith in Christ, says, “What has Christ already secured for us?”
Such a shift changes how we respond to temptation and suffering.
Freedom doesn’t mean we do what we want or live carelessly.
It means living Spirit-led, choosing righteousness because of freedom in Jesus, not because we feel forced.
As a practical step, choose one fear that shapes your decisions this week (rejection, fear, failure, etc.).
Write it down, then write down a Scripture that directly counters that fear, and speak it out every day.
Then pray to God to show you an action you can do to align with your Christ-identity.
Be Anchored in God’s Love
God’s love exists at the heart of all his work.
He is love.
Therefore, his actions and salvation flow from his love.
God’s love remains constant and unshaken.
The Spirit reminds us we aren’t defined by the chaos around us but by the love of God poured into us through Christ.
Romans 8:38-39 says, “nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This truth grounds our hearts while everything else is unstable.
Anchoring ourselves in his love, we don’t seek to earn what he’s already given.
We don’t react out of fear or anger, but with confidence and peace.
The Spirit of God places his love within our hearts.
Instead of allowing the world to make us hate or lie, we carry his presence to respond in love. We can forgive, stand firm, and love with courage and tenacity.
This doesn’t mean we ignore the darkness.
It means we don’t let the darkness define us or what we do.
We respond and fight with love, to save others, and God’s love shows us how to live by this motivation, walking in grace without compromise.
As a practical step, take 5 minutes every day to meditate on one passage about God’s love.
Read it, speak it aloud, and thank God for how he has shown his love in your life.
Renew Your Mind with Truth
The Devil is a liar and murderer, from the beginning, and into today’s darkness, spreads lies and delusions to feed fear, pride, and worldly philosophy.
However, the Spirit works on our hearts and minds to transform our beliefs and thinking according to truth, fixing our eyes on things of heaven, what lasts.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)
Transformation begins with what you allow with our thoughts.
Renewing our mind means replacing lies with truth.
We begin to see life through the lens of the eternal perspective and God’s kingdom.
The kingdom contains what will last, what matters, what will express Christ.
The Spirit uses Scripture to correct our thinking, strengthen our faith.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 Amplified Bible
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine and teaching which is in agreement with godliness (personal integrity, upright behavior), 4 he is conceited and woefully ignorant [understanding nothing]. He has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, which produces envy, quarrels, verbal abuse, evil suspicions, 5 and perpetual friction between men who are corrupted in mind and deprived of the truth, who think that godliness is a source of profit [a lucrative, money-making business—withdraw from them].
1 Timothy 6:20-21 Amplified Bible
20 O Timothy, guard and keep safe the deposit [of godly truth] entrusted to you, turn away from worldly and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], and the contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and by doing so have erred (missed the mark) and strayed from the faith.
2 Timothy 2:14-18 Amplified Bible
An Unashamed Workman
14 Remind the people of these facts, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God to avoid petty controversy over words, which does no good, and [upsets and undermines and] ruins [the faith of] those who listen. 15 Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth. 16 But avoid all irreverent babble and godless chatter [with its profane, empty words], for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their teaching will spread like gangrene. So it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have deviated from the truth. They claim that the resurrection has already taken place, and they undermine the faith of some.
We compare our thoughts with God’s truth in the Bible and reject them quickly, casting them down.
We aren’t in bondage to our thoughts or the lies the Devil brings to us.
We are free, and the Spirit empowers us to live free in our thoughts, keeping us from compromise.
A renewed mind leads to renewed actions and true peace.
This brings heavenly living to earth.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 Amplified Bible
14 But as for you, continue in the things that you have learned and of which you are convinced [holding tightly to the truths], knowing from whom you learned them, 15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Hebrew Scriptures) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [surrendering your entire self to Him and having absolute confidence in His wisdom, power and goodness]. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the [a]man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
As a practical step, choose a single verse or passage each week that focuses on an eternal reality.
Write it down and revisit it each day.
Memorize it through the week.
When negative or despairing thoughts arise, replace them with that verse.
Speak it aloud.
Pray over it louder.
Depend on the Spirit’s Power, Not Your Own
We must reject any reliance upon our own ability.
Too often, we come to God to save us, then try to live a divine life on our own.
Just like we need his power to save us from sin and death, we require his strength and grace to continue in walking out that salvation.
The world celebrates personal strength, hustle, achievement, and talent.
But these things always fail.
God never intended us to resist sin or live faithfully in our own strength.
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit”, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
When we depend upon the Spirit’s power, we stop trying to prove anything.
We can’t.
It humbles us rightfully when we acknowledge our limitations and invite God to work through us.
The Spirit provides power, love, and a sound mind.
Instead of pushing harder in our own effort, we learn to pause and pray to rely upon God alone.
Such humility brings us grace and power to remain faithful.
Even further, we can bless others.
In our dark culture, any self-reliance leads to burnout, frustration, anger, and compromise.
Spirit-dependence keeps us grounded and reliant upon the One who can save and sustain.
As a practical step, before starting any challenging situation (or when encountering one), take a moment to ask God for his help through the Spirit.
Name your weakness.
Be honest.
Then ask for his strength and trust that he will actively speak to you and work through you.
In this way, you will bring light to the darkness of the world.
How Can You Walk in the Spirit This Week?
- What does it mean to walk in the Spirit?
Walking in the Spirit means living under the guidance, power, and truth of the Holy Spirit rather than being ruled by fear, flesh, or the patterns of the world. - How do you walk in the Spirit in dark times?
You walk in the Spirit in dark times by choosing freedom over fear, anchoring yourself in God’s love, renewing your mind with Scripture, and depending on God’s power instead of your own. - Why is it hard to walk in the Spirit right now?
The article rightly points out that constant cultural pressure, fear, division, media overload, and moral confusion can make it difficult to stay spiritually grounded. - What helps Christians stay spiritually strong in dark times?
Practical surrender, Scripture meditation, kingdom focus, godly character, and Spirit-dependence all help believers remain steady and faithful.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Praying …
Book One
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 [a]Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked [following their advice and example],
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit [down to rest] in the seat of [b]scoffers (ridiculers).
2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night.
3
And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season;
Its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].
4
The wicked [those who live in disobedience to God’s law] are not so,
But they are like the chaff [worthless and without substance] which the wind blows away.
5
Therefore the wicked will not stand [unpunished] in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6
For the Lord knows and fully approves the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked shall perish.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 