SCRIPTURE: Psalm 21/Psalm 22
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength. How great is his joy in the victories you give! [Psalm 21:1] My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? [Psalm 22:1] Look at the contrast between the first verses of these psalms. From great joy to great sorrow. These are not contradictory, they are reality. In this world, we experience sorrow and joy, struggle and hope, weakness and strength. The beauty and richness of the Psalms is that they reflect life in this world so well, so honestly.
Jesus Himself experienced this. Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm, with a number of clear allusions to Jesus’ suffering and death, including the opening verse, cried out by Jesus from the cross. Yes, in this world people who trust in God will experience sorrow and joy… but the last word will be joy! I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. [John 16:20].
Deep down hope and joy within, even when outward circumstances are hard. This has been the experience of Jesus-followers through the ages. The well known words of the hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” are taken from the deep-down hope of Jeremiah in the midst of lamentation (Lamentations 3:19-24]. And the hope and joy of Habakkuk is still inspiring for us today: Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. [Habakkuk 3:17-18]
I think the psalms provide a clue to how we can experience this joy. David expressed what was in his heart, the good, the bad and the ugly. His open expression of his fears and hopes allowed the Spirit of God to strengthen him within. Keeping these emotions bottled up within only makes things worse. They take over our thoughts, they overwhelm us, they immobilize us. Satan delights when we do not process (i.e. pray) these things with God, he keeps us defeated when we do not express them.
But hope and joy come to those who talk these things through with God, who articulate and even write out their struggles. God’s Spirit gives us deep-down hope and joy. With His help, our grief will turn to joy!
PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for allowing me to open my heart to You. And thank You for Your Spirit, Who gives me hope and joy within!