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Psalm 80:8-14a  
You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River. Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes? Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it. Return to us, God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see!

The psalmist pictured Israel as a vine that God delivered from Egypt. God cleared the ground and planted them in a new land. The vine took root and grew. There had been a time when Israel flourished and prospered. But now the walls surrounding the vineyard have been broken down and others are enjoying its grapes. 

There are times in our lives when we think we have everything under control. Like a healthy vine we are flourishing and prospering, but then something hits—illness, breakup, loss, a devastating sin. Those are the times when our cries to God are desperate. Like the psalmist, we pray: “Return to us, God Almighty!” We pray with exclamation marks.

We have One who hears and sympathizes. Jesus understands…the weight of temptation, the sting of betrayal, aloneness as He hung on the cross. He is our Mediator who delivers our prayer of exclamation to the Father. Don’t give up!    

God Almighty, I need You! The walls of my life are broken down. I am vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks. I feel like You have left me. I feel like You have turned Your face from me. I feel like I am on my own. I am sinking beneath the weight of life’s challenges. Return to me, Lord Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! In Jesus’ name. Amen.