A Life Worthy

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help  (Psalm 22:11).

Many moons ago, I taught my daughter to ride a bicycle. She had one request of me as she pedaled her wobbly way up and down the sidewalk in front of our house:

Don’t go anywhere.

So I didn’t.

Interesting how little we change as we grow up. When disaster swirls around us and we feel completely in over our heads, our cry is simple.

Don’t go anywhere.

Stay with me.

I heard my daughter’s cry–every single one of the 50,000 times she uttered it.

I heard her, and I loved her, and I stayed by her side.

And God’s way better at this than I am, so…

Happy Monday, Beloved.

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 her 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, if he was really who he said he was.

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 David’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 Thursday

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 Tuesday, 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 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.

On Wednesday, just after I posted, my son and I hiked to the top of Mt. San Gorgonio. This, by the way, is why there was no post yesterday, as we didn’t get home until late Thursday afternoon. I am not a very experienced hiker, and I’m in only mediocre shape. These factors put climbing such a mountain in the “What are you thinking?” 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. Seems silly now, comfy in my chair with a good night’s sleep behind me and half a bottle of Ibuprofen coursing through me, but in that moment I think I got a 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 Friday

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 he 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 Tuesday