February 22, 2022
*/Disclaimer: This article has claims of God (spiritual movement) among us. /*
I really like counting things and therefore I really like data & numbers. There is not always significance behind a sequence of numbers, but it is fun to explore and celebrate anomalies. One interesting sequence occurred today. Today is 2-22-22 in the western (Gregorian) calendar. No superstition, no “planets aligning”, but still a point of interest.
On a different note, something powerful is happening in my church community. A powerful 40 hours of prayer weekend in January has overflowed into stirred passion and connection among people. Just this morning (2-22-22) a couple spoke of a woman who shared about some of her darkest self-doubts with her caring husband. Later in the morning, a women’s group shared a time of study, prayer and many tears. In another room, the group of people I was with read Psalm 22 and confessed feelings of sadness so big, that we hardly dare pray for a better result – because the probability of disappointment is too great to bear.
What is something you hope for so badly, what are dreams you don’t dare tell anyone else? What system of dysfunction or family disconnection do you “just live with” because “that is just the way it is”?
Well, I encourage you to find someone to share this burden with and read Psalm 22 together. Psalm 22 starts with David crying out to God “Why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from me?” The writer describes his overwhelming troubles, his life “poured out like water.” A few of the verses from this Psalm are quoted by people at the crucifixion of Jesus. But the Psalm does not end in sadness. “Deliver me…rescue me… and I will declare your name to my people, I will praise you!” Psalm 22:20-22 NIV. It is interesting that Jesus’ death is right there at the intersection of pain and praise.
A group of my close friends read Psalm 22 and each revealed heavy concerns that we dare not really hope for. Most of our hardships were with broken relationships or family difficulties. Reading Psalm 22 and “sharing secrets” was quite a comfort.
What if our friends could support us (pray for us) in our darkest fears? God will meet us there. Two is greater than one.
The opposite of fear is hope. The opposite of hate is love. The opposite of withdrawal is connection. The opposite of doubt is trust. Perhaps it is time to move beyond the former and pursue the latter with the support of another. Two is greater than one. So today, I encourage you to read Psalm 22 with another friend and ask like you have never asked before for God to intervene in the areas where you have little hope.
Psalm 22 NIV
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 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.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!