Category: Psalm 22

All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let the Lord deliver him, since he delights in him.”  (Psalm 22:7-8).

An innocent man who stands for God, mocked by those who will not believe.

David was in good company.

Matthew tells us that, as he died, Jesus was also mocked. Fools laughed and jeered and challenged Jesus to come down from the cross.

Thank you, Father, that he did not.

Most of us will never be called upon to suffer as David did, let alone as Jesus did. But we all will know pain and loss, sometimes in a way the world can see.

Beloved, when those times come, there are people in the world who will use it as an opportunity to mock you

or God

or both.

Even if they do not spit in your face, they will laugh behind your back. It is your job to glorify God in your suffering. Let the world see that you cling to the One who is faithful and true. Like Daniel’s friends, be willing to endure the flames–whatever the outcome.

Because in the end, there is only one opinion that matters, ya?

Stand firm, Beloved.

Happy Tuesday

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.  (Psalm 22:6)

You probably haven’t endured exactly this.

But you probably have felt exactly this.

There are days when we  look at our lives, our circumstances, our hearts, and realize just how pathetic we are. Perhaps, as in David’s case, we are under attack by those who hate us and what we stand for. Or perhaps we endure the judgement of our own mind and emotions, measuring ourselves against who we want to be, who we think God wants us to be, and finding that we fall short.

Again

We look at Friday’s verse, see God’s faithfulness and power to his children, but have trouble grabbing onto that promise for ourselves. We can’t seem to embrace that grace, because we see so clearly who we are.

Dirt sucking worms.

If, perchance, you find yourself in that place today, let me remind you of three things:

1. Emotions are notorious liars and quite untrustworthy.
2. You are the Beloved of the Lord of Everything. He has chosen you out of this world to be his. He knows you completely, and loves you utterly.
3. This Psalm ain’t over, baby.

Happy Monday, Beloved

In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed (Psalm 22:4-5).

It follows as naturally as weeping follows the alarm clock. 

David stops to remember who God is, and that leads to considering what he has done, and that leads to a reminder of God’s faithfulness. God has shown himself faithful throughout the generations. Over and over again, God has proven himself worthy of the trust of his people.

And speaking of that word, Trust–do you think maybe David had a poor vocabulary? I mean, he used it three times in two sentences. Perhaps he couldn’t come up with another word to describe how God’s people put their faith in him? Or could it be that David was reminding himself.

And those who would follow.

God’s people have a long history of trusting him.

God has zero history of bailing on his children.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.  (Psalm 22:3).

Oh yeah,

He’s God.

When we feel down, depressed, stressed, panicky, despairish, it’s easy to forget.

He’s God–with all that entails. 

And, he’s on our side.

Look, I don’t know what stressers your day holds, but here’s a thought…

Let’s you and I follow David’s lead and remind ourselves who it is we cry out to.

The Praise of Israel

The Praise of Michael

The Praise of….

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Oh my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent (Psalm 22:2).

David calls.

God is silent.

Well, that’s a bummer.

Now, David could take this several different ways. He could give up on God and assume that he is a myth, and that David is entirely alone. He could become angry with God, raging at God’s injustice in allowing his child to be in such a place of pain. He could become sullen and resentful and show God that David doesn’t really need him; David will be just fine on his own, thank you very much.

Or, he can persist, knowing that his relationship with God is more than this moment, and the truth of God is more than this circumstance.

A few years ago, just after I had read this passage, my son and I hiked to the top of Mt. San Gorgonio. I was–and am–not a very experienced hiker, and I’m in only mediocre shape. These factors put such a climb in the “Are you insane?” category. I thought of today’s verse as I limped my way up the last four miles of mountain. I felt, in those endless hours, as if the torture would pretty much be forever. The next day, comfy in my chair with a good night’s sleep behind me and half a bottle of Ibuprofen coursing through me, it all seemed very distant, but in those moments on the mountain I think I got a teensy glimpse of what David was feeling.  And I marvel at David’s persistence in crying out to the One who has delivered him time and again.

Cry out, Beloved. 

He is listening.

He is near.

He will answer.

Happy Wednesday

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?  (Psalm 22:1).

And yet he isn’t far, is he, Beloved?

I mean, you and I have been around long enough to realize that God is with us, even when we can’t feel his presence. He promised that he would never leave us, never forsake us, and we believe him.

But

that doesn’t change the way it feels.

I feel your pain, David my brother.

So I don’t know where you are today, emotions-wise. You may read this verse and think, “Wow, yeah, I remember feeling that way. So glad that’s over!”

For now

For someone out there, this verse is the echo of your own cry, of the pain and the sorrow and the terror of the “What if.”

As in, “What if I really am alone?”

“What if God really isn’t coming back?

or worst of all,

“What if he was never really there in the first place?”

If that’s you, all I can tell you is you’re not the first to feel this way, and you won’t be the last. You are not forgotten by the One who loves you.  If you can hang in and hang on, it will absolutely get better

in just a couple of verses.

Happy Monday, Beloved

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  (Psalm 22:1).

Forsaken

Deserted

Left utterly alone

David felt this. He looked around at the enemies arrayed against him and figured that God just wasn’t coming to the rescue this time. Maybe God was angry with David, or maybe he was too busy elsewhere. Whatever the reason, David was alone.

Beloved, I hope that you never feel that depth of aloneness. I hope your heart never tells you that you are abandoned by God, left to fend for yourself in a world that is against you. 

But, chances are, you have. 

Or you will

Or…you are

But

Your heart is mistaken.

You are not forsaken.

Jesus was forsaken for you. On the cross, Jesus was truly and completely separated from the Father as he took the punishment that we deserved. He took David’s words as his own as he cried out. He who had never in all eternity been alone suffered complete desolation

so that you will never have to.

You are not forsaken. Whatever your emotions or your circumstances or your chemistry tells you this morning, you are not forsaken.

You are remembered.

You are surrounded.

You are beloved.

Happy Friday

Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn–for he has done it (Psalm 22:31).

That’s us.

We’re the  posterity that David wrote about as he looked into the future and saw God’s praise growing and spreading. We are those future generations. And we can look ahead in faith and see that God’s praise will never end. I see it in my children, and, if I squint, I can imagine it in theirs.

You and I are blips on the timeline, Beloved.

But we are glorious blips.

Happy Friday

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him–those who cannot keep themselves alive (Psalm 22:29).

Let’s say you’re wealthy.

No, wait–let’s say that I’m wealthy.

Really very wealthy.

I will worship him.

As will all the rich

and all the poor

and all the beautiful

and all the frighteningly unattractive

and all the fit

and all the fluffy

and all the wise

and all the ditzy.

We will all worship.

Not because of who we are

but 

because of who he is.

So, since you will worship for all eternity, you might as well get started now, ya?

Happy Thursday, Beloved

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations (Psalm 22:27-28).

Every knee

Every tongue

Everywhere

And David gets to be part of that by praising God and sharing the story of his rescue.

And we get to be part of that by praising God and sharing the story of our rescue.

And the word will spread

And the praise will spread

Shall we join in, Beloved?

Happy Wednesday