Through The Centuries

Matthew 25:46

KJV

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

God has an awesome, perfect way of bringing promises to pass, and fulfilling Scripture exactly in the lives of those who He loves and love Him. According to Matthews gospel, these were the final words of Jesus. However, from the Gospel of John His final words were recorded as being “It is finished.” Nonetheless, what God had spoken centuries earlier through the lamenting words of David in Psalm 22 came to be spoken by the Son of God in His hour of darkness. The crucifixion and events leading to it reflect from Psalm 22. The exact words which Jesus breathed out before He gave up His spirit were written in Psalm 22:1, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” The way He was treated is all reflected within Psalm 22. It may have been centuries later, but what David wrote became a reality in the death of Christ. What God spoke, God fulfilled.

What can this mean for me? Quite a few different things. First off, through Christ being forsaken, I never will be. The promise “I shall never leave thee nor forsake thee” is mine to claim. Christ was separated from His father, and knew the darkness we for so long lived in on the other side of the veil, apart from His presence and light. I have a friend in Christ who can identify with and help me in my own dark hours, when everything around me screams that I'm defeated. Yet, Christ knew, and I do as well, that what the world calls defeat is only an opportunity for victory. The only thing which was defeated on the cross was defeat itself. Death was destroyed, and life was brought forth eternally. When the veil was torn, my fellowship with God was signed, sealed and delivered to me through Calvary. The veil is described as being torn from top to bottom. There is a deep significance to this. From the heights of heaven, to the depths of hell, I can never be separated from God. A Pslamist once wrote that even if I were to lay my bed in hell, God would be there with me. Whether I'm in the highest of spirits, or lowest of spirits in my life, I can come boldly to the throne of God, I can dwell and abide in His presence. I have unrestricted access at any point in my life.

Secondly, the earth was shaken and the rocks were split. Both of these things are representative of what only God can do. Who besides God can shake the earth? Who besides God can split a rock without laying a finger on it? None. This is a wonderful thing, for it shows that what we cannot seem to shake off in our life; sin, guilt, shame, fear, anxieties, uncertainties, can all be shaken off through the death of Christ. The hard things in our life, or the hardness of our hearts, can also be split in two, shattered, by the victory of Christ. There is nothing too hard for God, for He is the God of the impossible. What are the rocks in my life? What areas am I hardened in? What can I just not seem to shake off in my own strength? These questions must be asked, and the answers can be boldly brought to God to be dealt with properly. Whatever it is, it's guaranteed to be broken. Jesus said so when he declared “It is finished.” All that's left for us to do is hold the promises, to declare them in prayer over our lives, to shout out the victory over the powers of sin and death in our life. Some take time to be fulfilled, just like David's psalm, but rest assured it will be done.

Lastly, the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. There are hidden qualities and gifts in us which God will raise up at the appropriate time, in the right season. Things we never imagined doing or being will spring up from within us as the Holy Spirit works in us. The saintly qualities we yearn to acquire will all of a sudden pour forth from our lives as we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Fruit does take time to bear, but it's a truth rooted deeply in testimony that the fruit will come when we seek God. The struggle is persistence, the struggle is consistency, the struggle is self-discipline, the struggle is the war between the flesh and Spirit, when so much is trying to keep us from seeking God, but our Spirit yearns to seek Him. The most crucial days are the days we don't want to. That is where the miracles happen, that is when victory arrives. The days of defeat, when all is gloomy, when we want nothing but to get through the day. The greatest victory will come out of our greatest defeats. For the one who is born again to the living hope, Jesus Christ, every difficulty and defeat becomes an opportunity for victory, and victory is a fact.

The Climb

2 Corinthians 5:7

NKJV

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

The process of sanctification is not a walk through peaceful meadows near quiet streams. It is a climb.There are trials, perils, dangers, tribulations, hurts, uncertainties, fears, anxieties, and impossible situations. There are so many evils that Satan, and ourselves, put before us. Not every situation we face is a result of the work of Satan, as Jobs was. More often than not I will get myself into my own trouble by the misguided decisions I make, and I have none to blame but me. My soul can easily become downcast with one foul step to the left or to the right. Spending too long fixing my eyes on what lies off the path will draw me right off the path. There are so many enemies that lie along the path that I'm amazed that I'm actually where I am and not elsewhere living for myself and the world. The many distractions and cares of the world, the lusts of the flesh and eyes, the pride of life, the Devil who snatches away that which God scatters. There is none who gets the credit but God for what's been done to save my life. I had to lose it first before I gained it, but what was lost is not worthy to be compared to what was gained. The promise of life eternal. Let us not forget that which we pass through on the way to heaven though. The climb of sanctification. We do have the promise of eternal life, of a heavenly citizenship and home, but we also have life as we know it in the middle. Death lies behind us, eternal life ahead, and just.. life here. There is a constant groaning within to be further clothed with life, and to put off mortality, because we know what we are living is not the true destination of our souls state. The daily routine is a struggle, to say the least, with all that we know we can do better at. God promises that He uses that all for good though. Each step we take towards becoming an image of Jesus Christ is one of faith. There is no step we take towards the kingdom of God but that which is by faith. We cannot see heaven now, we do not see Jesus now, God does not walk on earth nor us in heaven now. As we take the steps, we are tested. Some steps are massive, those ones which look impossible, that defy all human logic. Steps like Peter made upon the water. Other steps are not so humanly big, such as prayer, or doing an act of love in the name of Jesus. But, it is all done by faith, and all of it brings us closer to Jesus. Something I have learned too is that Jesus is always there to catch us when we fall, and give us a boost on those steps which are beyond our ability (which truly is all of them, for Jesus said we can do nothing apart from Him). Even when we cannot sense His presence, His right hand is there supporting us. That is what I trust in, what has proved reliable, what will never fail me. The upholding hand of a faithful God, who is there for me as I walk by faith and not by sight.

Although it may not be a climb with peaceful meadows near quiet streams, we can have the quietness of those places in our souls, and that peace is in Jesus. We must give our cares, our anxieties, our burdens and our yokes unto Him. He will take it from us and give us rest for our souls. Though the climb may be hectic, our soul will not be, for we will abide in Christ as we walk by faith, not by sight.

Victory.

1 John 5:5

NKJV

“Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Victory has been guaranteed in my life through the resurrection of Christ. He defeated the grave once and for all, and now anything that could possibly bring death to me can have no dominion over me, for I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Sin, which brings death, has been laid in the grave for eternity. It's fate has been sealed, even though I still fall to it daily, I have the ability to rise again through Jesus. The power and dominion it once held over me has been destroyed. Over the last couple of months, God has been teaching me how to lay claim upon this victory I have in Christ. While I have yearned for it to be an experience like that of turning on a light switch, it has been more of a process of flipping a multitude of switches in the correct sequence. Not that it is a bad thing, in fact it has been the best road for me. Now that I have been experiencing what defeat feels like under the crushing weight of sin, victory through Christ is all the more sweeter. The bitter gives way to the sweet, and it naturally makes that which is sweet even sweeter. The feeling of defeat is never enjoyable, but had I not been going through various defeats, reaching the end of myself and my limits, I would not know how to properly appreciate the cross of Jesus. The empty tomb would not mean nearly as much as it does today, and that it will in the future. I don't exactly welcome failure and defeat with open arms, but I'm learning to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” Aside from learning that, I'm also learning to use my failures for good. They are what enables me to go along the right path, the one which leads to life. It's somewhat like a process of elimination, but with higher costs of pride, comfort, security, time, and effort. The cost is not cheap. But, the results are worth it. As I discover what does not work in pursuing God, I discover with great joy what does. Those discoveries are what draw me closer to God, because His nature and love are revealed to me. The failures make me appreciate all the more His grace, and how faithful and good He is to use the bad for good.

Who am I in light of this verse? I am a victor,  a winner, an overcomer, and more than a conqueror. I am reminded of a verse on a card my mother gave to me, Psalm 18:2. “ The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” I am none of those things without my God. He is Jehovah-jireh, who provides all I need in order to win, to overcome the world which I am passing through to the final destination, heaven.

When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong

2 Corinthians 12:10

ESV

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Gods strength is made manifest upon my admission of weakness. His power is made perfect in my weakness, and only after my limits are reached can His infinite nature begin to work in me. I am chained to limits in my flesh, and only when I cry out to Jesus am I able to bound over the walls of limit. The struggle along the way has been learning where those limits are. The journey is treacherous, full of dangers, hardships, uncertainty, unpredictability, fears, anxieties, weariness. Everything will come tumbling down as we press on to know where we end, and He begins. Those moments, I have learned, are where it counts. All the hard work that lies behind is worth nothing if I don't take heart when I reach my limit. I have a choice; cry out in faith to the One who saves, who will help me leap over the wall that exists within my ability, or to call it quits and turn back. I would be forsaking the abounding grace of my Father which lies just beyond the cry of my voice to Him who rests in green pastures on the other side, among many brothers and sisters who have gone before me and been helped in their inability by the Lord. The choice is clear, cry out!! He is willing and able to be sufficient to me in my weakness. God will complete that which is incomplete in me through His Son. Apart from Him, I am nothing, and can do nothing. Why then, would I doubt the ability of He who spoke the stars in the sky and made this man of the dust of Earth? Because my mind is set on my flesh, rather than the Spirit. I do not look to the One who is able, I focus so much on my inability! All the time I've spent in vain telling God the disparities of life, when I could've been grasping the grace He has for me in those times! The wicked “I” takes the center stage while all the while God is waiting for me to come boldly to His throne of grace! He has what I need! Will I still myself and let Him fight for me? Yes, but not as often as I'd like to admit. In order for God to work, He must have full control. The potter needs full control of the clay to do His masterful work, and I must fully yield myself and my weaknesses to His hands. He will do what only He can do. Clay cannot in itself fix where it is weak. It needs the hands of one who can identify the weakness, and strengthen it. The greatest difficulty for me has not been the trial itself, but rather the waiting upon God to do what only He can do. Holding fast to the promises He laid centuries ago, and believing Him to bring them to pass in His perfect timing. God doesn't always want to bring instant deliverance from my weaknesses, because He desires to test my heart, to teach me endurance. And I can surely testify that those who wait upon the Lord will not be ashamed, will not be left for dead, or forgotten. He is a faithful God, a wise God, who will never let us down. The Lord will help us by His Spirit to endure the sufferings and weaknesses, and make us better men and women of God as a result. Be still, and know, He is God.