In The Word
Read: Psalm 22:22-31
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 For He has not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
May your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will kneel before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30 A posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
31 They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
The previous verses (Psalms 22:1-21) were more focused on the sufferings and afflictions of Yeshua and how He stayed rooted in God no matter how unbearable His pain was. All He wanted was to seek God and believe in His deliverance. Reading from Psalms 22:22, we see now that the cry for help changed into a song of praise. All He wanted to do was declare the name of the Lord everywhere He was. Verse 24 says that God does not despise nor abhor the affliction of the afflicted but hears every cry made to Him. Our God is just; He doesn’t rejoice when we go through trials.
Adversities refine us to be pure, just as gold is refined by fire. The persecution we undergo everyday shouldn’t be in vain. Every time we go through a season of trials, we need to cast all of our cares on Him and know that there is a great reward after enduring every suffering. When we are persecuted for righteousness, we are blessed, and the kingdom of Heaven is ours (Matthew 5-10). Sometimes the Lord allows suffering in our lives to build up our faith muscles and our intimacy with Him (Job 1:11-12). We have to consider it pure joy when we face various trials (James 1:2).
Are you going through any kind of suffering right now? If this is true for you and you want the Lord to intervene, keep knocking on the door by praying without ceasing and giving thanks in all circumstances.
I encourage you: take it to the Lord in prayer.