The Essential JesusSample

At the Cross

PRAY: Dear God, I'm hungry for a deeper understanding of your love for me today.

READ: Psalm 22:1-31

REFLECT: It's not difficult to see how this psalm relates to Jesus; it vividly describes what Jesus would experience at his crucifixion. It was this very psalm Jesus quoted while he hung on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1; Mark 15:34). No doubt Jesus memorized these words as he grew up. Memorizing especially meaningful Bible verses may seem like an esoteric spiritual discipline, but it can become a reservoir of spiritual strength in times of trial (Psalm 119:11).

But to fully appreciate Psalm 22, we must consider what it meant in its original context. David's psalm describes the inner feelings of a man in trouble, big trouble. Have you ever faced a problem so great, so devastating that it affected your attitude, activities, health, and everything in your world? That's what David is feeling here. One of David's great strengths was his ability to communicate his feelings.

Another was his reflex for turning to God first when the chips were down. He did this by forcing himself to remember what God had done in the past (v. 4); that gave him hope and enabled him to trust. He also took time to praise (v. 25) and worship God (v. 29) in the middle of the crisis. That's how David weathered the storms in his life and what made him a "man after [God's] own heart" (Acts 13:22).

This psalm also causes us to admire the unique nature of the Bible. How could it be that nearly one thousand years before Jesus lived, David could describe the specific details of the way Jesus would die (Psalm 22:16; John 19:24-29) or what would happen at the foot of the cross (Psalm 22:18; John 19:24-25) or even what Jesus' enemies would say (Psalm 22:8; Matthew 27:41-43)? The only answer can be that God inspired David to write what he did (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). The Bible is God's book, and Jesus is the main character from start to finish.

APPLY: How do you react when the bottom drops out of your world? How has God come to your aid in past times of trouble?

PRAY: Lord Jesus, it's hard to imagine what you went through on the cross. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you!