Inside Psalm Twenty-Two

[NSMinistries]

Inside Psalm Twenty-Two
By Gary Piper

Have you ever felt like life has beaten the life out of you?

Have you ever felt like you were somehow transported to the moon?

Have you ever thought you’ve heard God saying, “You are on your own”?

If you’ve answered yes to any of the above questions or if you know of someone who has then you need to take a trip inside Psalm Twenty-Two. Some have said that this Psalm tells of Jesus’ experience on the cross. But I say does not only tell of Jesus’ life but ours as well.

Psalm Twenty-Two begins is the pit and ends in Heaven.

1My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away from helping me, so far away from the words of my groaning? 2My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer—also at night, but I find no rest.

Lord, the Psalmist chooses my words so well. How could he so long ago know how I would be feeling today? It seems the more I try to draw close the further and further away you seem to get. Could it be un-repented sin that increases the gulf between us? Could it be you are in the process of stepping ahead so I will follow you into new and un-discovered ministry for me?

Even though I do not always do the right thing, in my heart I know I am not a bad person. What, if anything am I missing Lord? Or could all this be a part of your eternal plan for my life!

3Yet, you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4Our ancestors trusted you. They trusted, and you rescued them. 5They cried to you and were saved. They trusted you and were never disappointed.

Lord, when it comes to your blessings we can not establish a time frame for them because like you they are timeless. They move swiftly back and forth through time just as the wind swirls and circles and moves swiftly through the trees. I am not only an eyewitness to the timelessness of your blessings but a recipient as well. I believe when I view the past through the Eyes of God and embrace my restlessness and disconnectedness with the Heart of Jesus I will speak of forth coming blessings with the Voice of the Spirit.

But Lord, at present…

6Yet, I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned by humanity and despised by people. 7All who see me make fun of me. Insults pour from their mouths. They shake their heads and say, 8"Put yourself in the LORD's hands. Let the LORD save him! Let God rescue him since he is pleased with him!"

Life and people do not owe me, Lord even you do not owe me. But I do not need you to owe me because I know you love me. Likewise I do not need life and people to owe me but it would be neat if they, like you, loved me – I mean really loved me.

Having said that there are people in my life that do love me as perfectly as one human can love another for them I am truly blessed and am eternally grateful. Some of them I know yet there are just as many or more I do not know but you know all of them God so please, please, please, please create a Mighty Wind and fill the sails of their lives with your Divine Breath and carry them to unimaginable Spiritual Heights.

Lord I do not owe I love!

There are those who have political, judicial, employment, moral, and even religious authority over me that HAVE abandoned my life for their own self interest. To them I am a means unto an end, a stepping stone, a robot, a number in a computer, an imperfect cog in a mammoth wheel of enterprise – and I struggle to love them therefore I turn to you because you do love them and I ask you to impart to me some of that love.

You are THEIR God – you are MY God!

9Indeed, you are the one who brought me out of the womb, the one who made me feel safe at my mother's breasts. 10I was placed in your care from birth. From my mother's womb you have been my God.

Lord, I find myself frustrated because there are no words in the human language that can adequately express the gratitude for your infinite love, compassion, and life you’ve given me. Even if I lived a thousand lifetimes and each time given it to you it would not be enough. All I can do is pledge my allegiance to you and to embrace the world and the world’s people with the blessing of Shalom.

Lord even though my spirit is not of the world I am still physically present in the therefore…

11Do not be so far away from me. Trouble is near, and there is no one to help. 12Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls from Bashan have encircled me. 13They have opened their mouths to attack me like ferocious, roaring lions.

Bulls?

Lions?

There are no wild beasts surrounding me – only people the very same people whose lives appear in verses six, seven, and eight. Yet through these three verses the Psalmist gives me warning of what lies ahead telling me there are those who choose to turn their backs on you, your creation, and your people.

I am grateful for the warning of the Psalmist because I can now make provisions to embrace their onslaught by the powering-up process of humbling myself therefore…

14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It has melted within me. 15My strength is dried up like pieces of broken pottery. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me down in the dust of death. 16Dogs have surrounded me. A mob has encircled me. They have pierced my hands and feet. 17I can count all my bones. People stare. They gloat over me. 18They divide my clothes among themselves. They throw dice for my clothing.

To some the process of becoming humble is painful too painful for them. Yet is not the period of pain I focus on but on the Light that follows the darkness. To become humble is to become broken hearted to those who have humbled themselves to the point of becoming broken hearted Jesus comes to heal their broken heart with his own UnBreakable Heart!

Consequently I will continue my prayer vigilance and with prophetic anticipation I WILL arm myself with my new found humility seek the Lord and cry out…

19Do not be so far away, O LORD. Come quickly to help me, O my strength. 20Rescue my soul from the sword, my life from vicious dogs. 21Save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of wild oxen. You have answered me.

Because your time is not my time and my time is not your time I will not wait for your answer with its forthcoming blessings but will tell my God story. I will stand on the mountain of adversity – I will stand in the valley of despair and with the Heart of Jesus and the Voice of the Spirit sing songs of hope, joy, peace, and love.

Not only that…

22I will tell my people about your name. I will praise you within the congregation. 23All who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel. 24The LORD has not despised or been disgusted with the plight of the oppressed one. He has not hidden his face from that person. The LORD heard when that oppressed person cried out to him for help.

But what will I say?

What story will I tell?

Will I judge and condemn?

Nay! Nay! Nay!

I will tell what my Lord has done for me. I will tell what my Lord will do for others. I will say…

25My praise comes from you while I am among those assembled for worship. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear the LORD. 26Oppressed people will eat until they are full. Those who look to the LORD will praise him. May you live forever. 27All the ends of the earth will remember and return to the LORD. All the families from all the nations will worship you 28because the kingdom belongs to the LORD and he rules the nations.

And with my life I will stand as a symbol that to be blessed with a relationship with the God is to be truly prosperous. When persons see me with the eyes of God, experience me with the heart of Jesus, and experience the voice of the Spirit in them they will see the truthfulness of the Psalmist testimony that…

29All prosperous people on earth will eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust will kneel in front of him, even those who are barely alive. 30There will be descendants who serve him, a generation that will be told about the Lord. 31They will tell people yet to be born about his righteousness-- that he has finished it.

And based upon the combined story of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Psalmist, and mine people will be able to see and experience the perpetual-ness of the ongoing work of God to draw all mankind into his Eternal Kingdom.

ARE YOU WILLING TO TAKE (OR RENEW) THE AWESOME AND SOMETIMES PAINFUL JOURNEY THROUGH WORDS, SENTENCES, AND VERSES OF PSALM TWENTY-TWO?
PLEASE SAY YES!

[Isabella8688]

Thanks you for sharing