THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 22
“I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.” (22)
I attended the funeral of a passionate ambassador for the kingdom of God.
He fought a short, painful battle with cancer; he lost that battle but won the Fight!
He and his family certainly felt the pain of the opening words of this psalm.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (1)
But he held on to Jesus to the end, wand wanted to encourage us to do the same.
His last word to us, as conveyed through the funeral he planned, was hope!
In life and in death, he focused on God and Jesus, and urged us to do the same.
We think of this psalm in relation to Jesus, and His last words on the cross.
But Jesus was not just quoting the verse, but referencing the whole psalm.
As a whole, the message is, ‘I may be suffering but God is still good, trust Him!’
This psalm, and the funeral service, are both lighting a fire in my heart.
Despite the suffering, we hang on, we fight the good fight of faith, hope and love.
We cling to the truth that ‘God is crazy about us’, He will not abandon us.
The struggles now are only the first chapters in a story that only gets better.
Thanks Adrian, for declaring Jesus’ Name in your life, and in your funeral.
You were rich in Christ, and you made us rich by knowing you!
“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.” (29)
You are kneeling before Him now, and one day we will join you!
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for the gift of Your servant Adrian. May those whose lives were impacted by him continue his legacy of determined kingdom service for You.