I love Sundays for a host of reasons, but mostly because I get to spend time contemplating what Jesus has done for me. I get to spend a significant portion of my day praising God for what He’s done and how great He truly is. Truly I am thankful that the Lord’s supper is to be taken every first day of the week, because I need that time alone with my thoughts and my God. I need to be reminded of all Christ did for me.
Each Sunday, I like to change up my routine for that reflective time. Sometimes I only pray. Sometimes I read Isaiah 53. Sometimes I read from one of the gospel accounts. And sometimes, like yesterday, I read Psalm 22, a Messianic psalm.
Psalm 22 is beautiful to me in a lot of different ways, but today I want to tell you just one and that is this: Jesus’ attitude on the cross was beautiful.
The first two verses of Psalm 22 are sad:
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
These verses tear at my heartstrings. They remind me that I never have to ask God why He’s forsaken me, because He won’t. He let Jesus die on the cross so that I can’t say it. And so I read this verses with pain, knowing I caused the perfect Savior pain. I read these verses with shame, knowing it was my sin that held Him there. I also read these verses and partially relate: there have been times in my life that I have (wrongly) felt forsaken. I have felt alone. I have felt that God turned His back on me because He allowed negative things to transpire in my life. But that’s why I love verse 3.
The psalmist records that Jesus has been forsaken. The psalmist records that God doesn’t hear the cries His Only Begotten Son is making. Then…
But You are holy
How beautiful is that thought? While Jesus is hanging on the cross, the sin of the world bearing down on His perfect shoulders, He doesn’t blame God. As Christ endures the hardest day any human has ever or will ever have to face He boasts “but You are holy.”
This has to be our mantra in life. Regardless of what happens or how bad it seems to get, we must recognize who our God is. And He is holy. When things are bad, He is holy. He is our refuge (Psalm 46). He is good.
I love the contrast word ‘but’. The things that happened to Jesus upon this earth were anything but holy. They were horrific. They were agonizing and deplorable. He was literally spit upon and beaten nearly into a pulp. And in the face of all of this – all of this and SO much more – “but You are holy.”
On the days the world is closing in and Satan is beating me down, I must remember God is holy. On the days my own family berates me and persecutes me, God is holy. If I am tortured for my faith, God is holy. If I go through the outward trials of illness or loss, God is holy. No matter the situation, no matter how hard my life gets, God IS holy. His plans are above my plans. His salvation is magnificent. His love is everlasting. His mercy endures forever. His forgiveness is unfathomable. His timing is impeccable. He is holy, and He is my God.
I am so blessed to be called God’s daughter. I will never deserve to wear the name Christian, but I am eternally indebted to the Creator who will let me live with Him forever in a place free from pain, tears and sorrow. Whatever sacrifices I am called to make here, whatever inconveniences I face or hard days I endure, heaven is worth it. Seeing my holy God face to face is worth it. Bring on the tough stuff. God is holy. He will get me through anything and everything.
I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies (Psalm 18:1-3).
