There is a Remedy for Your Suffering
Jesus is the remedy for your suffering.
I could stop right there but as human beings we also want to know "why" and "how". We can be bought and saved by his blood and still not fathom that the purest and most authentic solution to alleviate our suffering is Jesus.
He is it because he gets it, and He gets you.
A Spoken and Unspoken Pain
Around this time of year, as conversations about the Cross, there is always a fall back to the Old Testament prophecies unveiling the sacrifice of our Savior. They certify Christ and what he did to fill the love gap between us and the Father.
But Psalms 22 is different. It hits different for me.
This Psalms transforms King David from poet to artist, having painted with unimaginable, prophetic detail the suffering of our Lord and Savior. His words so vivid they make the Cross become real.
There are days in my life when I need to know that the pain of the Cross was real. It helps me put my own pain in perspective, and I need perspective. I need to know only Jesus could have died for us, understand why only His suffering would suffice. Psalms 22 gives me perspective on the spoken and unspoken turmoil of my Sweet Jesus.
It helps me to know Him,
be more vulnerable to Him,
understand why I need him.
It makes me love my Sweet Jesus all the more.
It Speaks for Itself
The Jesus of Psalms 22 speaks for itself. It is the answer to Philippians 3:10...
...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings,...
And so, I stop my words right here.
You don't need to hear from me. You need to hear from Him.
Take the time to read Psalm 22 but also
listen,
see,
and know for yourself why he is the remedy for your suffering.
Psalm 22
For the Director of Musicc. To the tune of "The Doe of the Morning." A psalm of David.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me [Luke 23:34]? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out day by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted you and you delivered them. They cried to you are were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by people. All who seek me mock me; they hurls insults, shaking their heads: "He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." [Luke 23:35]
Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring loins tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water [John 19:34], and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the root of my mouth [I thirst, John 19:28]; you lay me in the dust of the earth.
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and fee [Luke 24:39]. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me [Luke23:35]. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing [John 19:23-24].
But you, oh Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; they will seek the Lord and praise him - may your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.
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.
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 [it is finished, John 19:30].
PHILLIPA WILLIAMS
AUTHOR | BLOGGER | MINISTRY COACH
