Psalm 22 - When God Seems Silent

I'm going to invite you this morning to Psalm chapter 22, where we're going to be together today. Psalm chapter 22 and one of the most profound prophetic passages of Scripture in the Bible. When you look at the book of Psalms and you just maybe highlight through the Psalms what are some significant psalms that Christians should know about? There are a handful of Psalms that I would just say are more prominent than other Psalms. It's not to take away from the beauty of the book of Psalms. There's 150 chapters of Psalms. All of them are important. All of them have a significant place in the life of the believer. But there are certain Psalms that I think are more prominent than other Psalms. And certainly Psalm 22 is one of those passages that's critical for us to know as believers.

Now, in light of that, let me just say, I think that case can be laid out really for all of Scripture. All of Scripture we know is inspired by God. And because of that, it is important for us. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter five, not one jot or tittle will pass away from Scripture till all of it is fulfilled. This is God's Word for you. If you want to hear God speak into your life, God's Word is where you go. And so God's Word is important for us, right? But there are certain passages of the Bible that I would just say are more prominent than others. For example, if you ever read the book of Chronicles, what you find in the first eight and a half chapters of Chronicles is it's nothing but genealogy, right? There's a point to it. It is important, but there's certain passages of the Bible that are just more prominent in the life of the believer than others. We'll just say it like this. There's some spaces in Scripture that just hit different and it should, right? There are certain verses in Psalms that just cling to the soul in ways that other passages don't. Especially when you read Psalm 22, when this Psalm begins, you see this psalm starts with a bang, and it just invites you in to understand what's happening in this passage of Scripture.

Now in light of that, in recognizing that Psalm 22 is such a significant prophetic passage of the Bible, I want us just to consider how important the prophecy of Scripture is in light of the significance of Christianity as a whole. Like there was a study done and put out in somewhat of an artistic form for us to just grab in a visual way the significance of what it means to be a follower of Jesus in light of the Bible. Some of you have probably seen this illustration before. This was conducted by two people, one named Chris Harrison, who was a computer scientist, and another individual by the name of Christopher Rumfield. And Christopher Rumfield is a minister in Germany. He got with his computer scientist who illustrated for us all of the cross-references in the Bible, how God gave us a lot of prophecies in the Old Testament and majority of those being fulfilled in the New Testament. And he ties it all together in one beautiful way.

Now, looking at this illustration, I should tell you those white lines at the bottom indicate chapters of the Bible and the length of those lines. Recognize the length of those chapters. If you look in the very middle of this illustration, you'll see this longer white line. I know this is very tiny, so don't worry. There's no words written on here. There's a longer white line there in the middle. And that's reflective of Psalm 119, which is the longest chapter in the Bible, which is right in the middle of Scripture. So it gives you a little bit of a reference, starting from Genesis to Revelation. You see Psalm 119 in the middle. And then as you look at these arms that are in different colors throughout these chapters of the Bible, the warmer the color, it represents how far a prophecy was given to its fulfillment. And the cooler the color represents how close a prophecy was given to its fulfillment. But you're seeing over 63,000 cross-references in Scripture.

Now, let me just tell you why this is important for you as a believer. It's because there is no other religious work in all of human history that holds a candle to the prophetic fulfillment of what Scripture contains. In fact, there is no religious work in all of history that just holds a candle to the Bible in general. Because when you look at these prophecies and being fulfilled, one of the things that's important to recognize out of all these chapters that's represented below, is that these chapters all fall into 66 books of the Bible. These 66 books were written over 1500 years by 40 plus different authors on three different continents, in three different languages, and carry with it one theme. You know, I have a hard time sustaining a thought for more than five minutes. And here you have God's Word given to you over a span of 1500 years. And it's a fulfillment of one theme, which is God's ransom and redemption of your souls.

As you start in the beginning of the Bible, you discover that we're created for relationship in the Lord, and through that relationship we glorify him in the things that we do. But in the very beginning of the pages of Scripture, you find man, they turn their backs on God. They pursued a different path contrary to the Lord, which we call sin. And God didn't leave us in that state of brokenness. And in fact, he promised us salvation. He pursued us with his life. He ultimately gave his life for us so that we can be forgiven and freed, reconciled to him, and have a hope of eternity, of walking with God all of our days.

Now, in light of that, I think it's worth just recognizing that when you compare the beauty of God's Word to other religious works, some religious works are just written by one individual who sits down, writes a book that he calls holy of God and just says, trust me, you should believe it. And that would be maybe if I highlighted a few religions like Scientology or Islam. But then there's other religious works that might have been put together by a collection of individuals, works that may be written in the religion of Buddhism or maybe even Hinduism. But there's not this prophetic element that shows historical fulfillment in all that God has promised to validate those works.

If I just kind of honed in on the idea of what Psalm 22 is about, Psalm 22 and its prophetic works, is recognizing the life of David, who is a foreshadowing of ultimately the messianic King who would bring deliverance for all of us. Meaning David was a type of a king who often in his writings, would reflect upon a greater King who would bring about this redemption. In light of that, when you look at certain prophecies in the Old Testament, you'll see the recognition of those writers declaring to us that one would come on the throne of David, and he would be that messianic figure to rescue all of his people. And you see it peppered throughout Scripture. These aren't the only scriptures that I could highlight that declare to you one person on the Davidic throne would ultimately be our deliverer. But these are just some of those passages that I just want you to be aware that they exist.

And I also want you to be aware of why these passages are so unique. Because when you study Israel's history, what you find is God certainly promised a Messiah would come all the way back through the book of Genesis, but then it starts through the life of Abraham to tell us it would come through a specific group of people and ultimately through a specific lineage among that group of people, which would be through the line of David. What makes that even more exceptional is when you study the history of Israel, what you discover is shortly after the rulership of King David came another king named King Solomon, through the line of David. And right after King Solomon there was a civil war among the Jewish people. Ten of the tribes went with the northern group, following Ephraim as their predominant tribe. Two of the tribes followed the line of King David. That was Judah and Benjamin.

Furthermore, when you go into the history of Israel, you discover that the ten northern tribes were ultimately conquered by the Assyrians, taken into captivity and never heard from again. The two southern tribes continued on for a little more than a century, but ultimately they were conquered by the Babylonians between 606 and 586, and they, too, were carried into captivity during that particular time period. When anyone was conquered by another group of people, what would ultimately happen by that group of people that were the conquerors, is that they would send their own people back into the land in which they conquered, in order to take any remnant of people that might remain, and for their culture to be lost in the greater culture that conquered them. It was their way of ultimately defeating that people group.

But here's what's amazing about the Jewish people, is that when you read about the prophecies, for example, in Jeremiah, who talks about David's throne and a branch of David rising up, or the prophecy in Ezekiel that talks again about David, he shall rise again as a prince. All of these prophecies on your screen are long after the time period of David, and Jeremiah and Ezekiel in particular, they're giving these prophecies while they're being conquered and being sent into captivity. Jeremiah, at least, as they're being conquered and being sent into captivity. And Ezekiel is written while they're in captivity. So for them to declare that one will rise on the Davidic throne is almost a farce for God's people to even say, because according to history, once a people group is conquered, they're ultimately and forever lost. But here in these moments, God's people continue to proclaim there is one who will come. And he will come from the line of David, and he will rule on his throne, bringing deliverance for his people.

Psalm 22 is different for us because it is that proclamation. One of the things that's interesting about this Psalm is that it's really a dual fulfillment. Often prophecy works this way, whereas David writes Psalm 22, he's sharing with us very real struggles happening in his life. But as you read this Psalm, you realize that the circumstances David is describing are very real for him, but he's describing it in a way that's also beyond him. Meaning, yes, David is going through adversity that we see in Psalm 22, but ultimately it's looking forward to something even greater that's to be fulfilled.

And as David writes this psalm for us, he says in Psalm 22, this famous phrase that we're aware of, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning. David is teaching us something about the personal walk of our faith and the circumstances that we might encounter as we desire to journey with Jesus in this world. Meaning, one of the things that David is recognizing is that there are times in our walk where we feel close to God, and there are times in our walk where we feel distant from God. And David is recognizing that he's in that particular place where, rather than feeling close to God, he's feeling distant and he's asking God, God, where are you?

And I want you to know for all of us when we follow Jesus, if you haven't been in this season of life, at some point you'll come to this place. And the question that we should ask ourselves is that when we feel a certain way about our relationship with the Lord and maybe even distant from him, what am I going to put my trust in? Am I going to put my trust in my feelings, or am I going to put my trust in my faith? In fact, passages like the book of James chapter one, James writes to a persecuted church and he says this to us, that in the midst of persecution, that we are to persevere as God's people. He says, consider it all joy, my brothers, when you face various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect work. Saying the life of every believer, there's going to be a time where you may not feel close to the Lord, but it becomes this beautiful place of saying, what are you going to trust in, your feelings or your faith?

And David, in these moments, the reason he's writing Psalm 22 is though he feels a certain way, he's declaring to us by writing this Psalm that he's putting his faith in the Lord. And this Psalm shouts for us as God's people why this is important for us to recognize and everything that God is, so that when we face those seasons too, we might find ourselves trusting in him. In fact, in verse two he says, oh my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

And so while we look at this Psalm in a personal way from King David, it's also important to recognize that this Psalm is so much deeper than just King David, because that opening phrase in Psalm 22, if you're familiar with the New Testament, you would recognize this is exactly what Jesus stated on the cross. Both the book of Matthew and the book of Mark quote Jesus as reciting the first verse to Psalm 22. In Matthew 27 and verse 46, Jesus says on the cross, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And he says this not just to say that he's fulfilling verse one of Psalm 22. Jesus declares this as if to say, I'm living out all of Psalm 22 right now. Everything that we looked forward to, that Davidic ruler to fulfill for us, Jesus is that fulfillment. And he's declaring this for your life and mine.

Some of us have looked at this and asked, when you read that particular passage in the book of Matthew as Jesus recites this, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? What is going on with Jesus? And some have simplified it in this way. Jesus is taking on our hell so we can have his heaven. Theologians have referred to this as the Great Exchange. In First Corinthians chapter five it says of Jesus, he became sin who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Jesus took on who we are in our sin so that we could take on who he is in his righteousness. This is the great exchange, the forgiveness of a glorious God.

And as people have come to understand what Jesus is doing in this passage, some have also asked the question, why in the world would he do this? Why would the King of all glory step off his throne and subject his life to such a difficult moment for you and for me? My God, my God, why are you forsaking me? Jesus, if we're theologically just thinking about this for a moment, Jesus is literally experiencing hell on earth. Second Thessalonians chapter one, verses seven and nine, there's a passage where God describes the idea of what hell is for us. And he says it like this, that you're cast from his presence. And if I got more specific, I would say it works like this. You're cast from God's gracious presence forever. Now the beauty of heaven is God inviting us into his eternal presence forever. Meaning if you want a life with God, he'll give it to you. This is the reason Jesus came to offer that deliverance. And if you want a life without God, he'll give it to you. But the beauty of Psalm 22 is to help us understand the extent to which Jesus was willing to go, so that you could experience that life with him, so that when there's moments in your life where you just might feel distant, you're reminded of the extent that God was willing to go for you and for me.

But yet it still begs the question, why would he do such a thing? I loved one commentary because theologians have marveled at this through the centuries. Why would God do this? One commentary said it like this. I don't know, he said. I can't explain it, but I believe that this is what the Bible teaches. So great was the love of God for us, and so great was the price Jesus willingly paid to save us from our iniquities.

Even Peter, in First Peter chapter one, as he writes his first letter to us, he says this in verse ten, concerning this salvation the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully. Verse 11, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you. In the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you, through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. Therefore, he says, prepare your minds for action. Being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, don't be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, so you also be holy in your conduct.

He's saying, we can't fully understand why God would go to this extent for us, because for us as people, it just doesn't make sense why someone would be so willing to subject their life to such suffering so that we could be made free. Why would God offer his love for me to such an extent, when what I offer him is sin in return? We will spend the rest of eternity plunging the depths of that love and understanding the extent that God would go for you and I.

But one of the things it does is it invites us in when we realize what God is willing to do for you and for me. It endears our heart to the extent of his love, and because he loves us, the Bible tells us he first loved us, then we love him. And so it brings this heart to the place of humility and wanting to understand who this God is. And Psalm 22 goes further in explaining this to us.

If we were to ask the question, what was Jesus thinking as he goes to the cross? The Gospels don't leave it as a mystery to us if I just highlight it. Even the Gospel of Luke starting in Luke 23. And if you were to look at Jesus's life as he's going to the cross, I gotta tell you, for many of us, if someone were to tell you this is the last day of your life, and also your ending is going to be horrific, it would be difficult for us to think of anything but ourselves. We would want to sit and sulk in our struggle, and rather than look to other people, we would want to explain to other people exactly what we're going to go through. We would want other people to just understand us.

But when you look at Jesus's life as he's going to the cross and he knows the extent for which he's about to offer his life, what you see throughout the Gospels is again and again, Jesus continuing to think about others. When Jesus is being taken to the cross, it tells us that the women are following after him. In Luke 23, verse 28, it says that Jesus speaks to them and says, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. As Jesus is nailed to the cross and the crowd begins to mock him, in Luke 23, verse 34, Jesus says, father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. And as Jesus is nailed to the cross and the thieves are beside him, he turns to one of the thieves in verse 43 and says, I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise. And even in John chapter 19, the Bible tells us that Jesus's mother and John the Apostle are at the feet of Jesus at his cross, and Jesus looks to John and to his mother, and he says, dear woman, here is your son. And to John, here is your mother. Church history records for us that John the Apostle took care of Jesus's mother for the rest of her days. Up until his dying breath, Jesus continued to think less of himself and more about you. Jesus's life was given for you and for me.

So in light of this Psalm, we're asking the question today, what do we do when God seems silent? Let me give you number one in your notes. Trust God's faithfulness when you cannot understand his silence. Trust God's faithfulness when you cannot understand his silence. And this is what Psalm 22 is about. And in fact, when you look at this Psalm, you see this particular rhythm taking place, that here in the first couple of verses, David acknowledges he feels distant from the Lord. And even Jesus, in quoting from this psalm, is acknowledging that the father has turned his back on the son as the son bears our sin at the cross. But then in verse three, it goes on and the Son and David reflect on the faithfulness of the father. Verse three, yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. And you, our fathers trusted, they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued. In you they trusted and were not put to shame.

There are moments in life we despair. There are moments in life with the Lord we might feel distant. And in those moments, the question is what will you trust, your feelings or your faith? And in verse three, they come to this place of trusting in their faith because of the faithfulness of who God is. And you see in verse 3 to 5, the psalmist reflecting on the faithful hand of the Lord and saying, God, you have not turned your back on your people. And as you've been faithful to them, I'm recognizing you're going to be faithful to me.

And you'll find throughout this Psalm it ebbs and flows back and forth where you see at the bottom of your screen, verse one and two, it talks about the struggle, verse three and five, it talks about the promise, verse six and eight again, which we're not going to read together for time's sake, but then it gets back to the struggle. And this is a passage where Jesus refers to himself as a worm and God being a holy God. And that comparison is just to show how much distance there is between the greatness of who God is and the state in which Jesus finds himself, choosing that term of a worm. But then in verse 9 to 11, Jesus again looks to the faithfulness of the Lord, but rather than seeing God's faithful hand throughout history, he talks about God's faithfulness, the father's faithfulness specifically to him. And so when we look at our lives and what we will believe and how we will move forward, it's a reminder to all of us that there are the promises of God that we see within Scripture, and then there's the faithfulness of God that we've seen in our own lives.

And then when you get to verse 12, you get to some very specific section of the psalm that reflects on particularities to the crucifixion that Christ would face. And here's one of the things that's very powerful about this passage. It goes from verse 12 to 18, and this Psalm was written a thousand years before Jesus would ultimately go to the cross. It says, many bulls encompass me. Strong bulls of Bashan surround me. In verse 12, we might start off looking at this and thinking, why should I care about this? I know nothing of bulls or Bashan, right. But if you know anything about the area of Israel, one of the most fertile areas in the land of Israel was this land of Bashan, where these bulls were raised. And animals that tend to graze in this area were the strongest of any herd in the land. And so it's comparing the assaults coming against them as the powerful bulls of Bashan.

And verse 13, they open wide their mouths at me like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. And in recognizing the torture that Jesus went through, his body was beaten. He definitely would have been bleeding profusely. And many people have studied what would ultimately have brought his death, and most doctors that are familiar with having studied what Christ went through in the crucifixion would say that what ultimately killed Christ was the pressure that he would have experienced around his heart. Jesus would have literally died from a broken heart. And so his heart is like wax, his bones out of joint. Many have said that when the cross would have been put in its place, it would often wreck a human body to the point that your body's joints would have been dislocated.

Verse 15, my strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue sticks to my jaws. Jesus, certainly parched from all that he's gone through. You lay me in the dust of death. Verse 16, for dogs encompass me. A company of evildoers encircle me. They have pierced my hands and my feet, being nailed to the cross. Verse 17, I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. Jesus no doubt would have been beaten to the point that even his rib cage would have been exposed by his flesh being ripped off. And then verse 18, they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. And no doubt, historically, you might recognize that as Jesus hung on the cross, the Roman soldiers did such a thing. They cast lots for his garments. And here you see this prophetic fulfillment of all that Jesus accomplished for you and for me.

And then in verse 19 to 21 becomes the hinge point of this passage. This becomes the section where everything changes. And it says in verse 19, but you, O Lord, do not be far off, O you, my help. Come quickly to my aid. Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion. You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen. This becomes the pivot place in the psalm where everything changes. And the moment that seems so hopeless, as you look at the trajectory of this psalm, it starts off in the darkest of places. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? But as this psalm builds, it comes to this pinnacle moment where deliverance is given to us in verse 21.

But as you look at this particular section, you'll see that I've highlighted a few phrases within this passage that I think are worthy of recognition. As Jesus declares to the Lord, be not far off, this phrase, O Lord, is the first time this particular phrase is used in this Psalm. For the Jewish people, this is a very sacred name of God. It is not used often in Scripture because it's considered sacred. This is the name of God given to Moses at the burning bush. When God comes to Moses at the burning bush and says, go back to Egypt and declare to Pharaoh that you are to let my people go. And Moses says, I can't just walk back into the land and do that. They're going to ask me, by what authority am I declaring this? And who am I to tell them God that sent me? And he says to them, tell them that the I am has sent you, Yahweh. And here in Psalm 22, David uses that personal name as if to call on the glory of who God is. And he says, don't be far from me. And this is a phrase that's been echoed again and again in this Psalm. In verse one, the psalmist cries out, don't be far from me. In verse 11 he says it again, and here in verse 19. But then finally in verse 21, deliverance is given. And he says, you have rescued me. It's talking about the rescuing of Christ from the grave, that Jesus has overcome death so that we could be freed.

And so that brings me to point number two. The reason that we trust God's faithfulness is because, point number two, God turns suffering into praise. God turns suffering into praise. You know, I had a friend once who was passing away from cancer, and there was this hope in her heart that maybe God would heal her, but she would say it like this, either I'm going to be healed, or I'm going to be healed. Either way, ultimately, one day God will get the victory over this. Whether it's in this life or what is to come, God will turn our suffering into praise.

And the psalmist is acknowledging this in verse 22. He says, I will tell of your name to my brothers. Speaking of Jesus and saying to the children of Israel, I will declare your name. Because of this resurrection, this victory, I will share it. I will declare it. I'll tell your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation. I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him, all you offspring of Jacob, glorify him and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel. For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

So here in this passage, it's saying, whatever challenge you're going through, it's not because God is against you. It's not because God doesn't care about you. Even if it's you that has inflicted it, even if it's your sin. And Jesus is saying, I will declare this to the world. That we would turn from our suffering and see the greatness of who God is and what this means for us.

And Charles Spurgeon said it like this related to the resurrection of Christ. He said, you know, it's interesting, when Jesus was resurrected, of all the people he could have gone to, he didn't go to the kings and the leaders of the day after his resurrection. The people he immediately turned to were those who were fearful, and he turned their fear into worship. Remember the life of the disciples at Jesus's crucifixion. They ran and they hid. They were concerned, scared, and worried about what their future involved. But it was Jesus who went to the fearful. And he turned their fear into worship.

Guys, can I tell you? Throughout the rest of this psalm, it peppers within these passages what God expects of you. And it's emboldened in these verses, starting in verse 23, you'll see this as I go through these verses with you. I will embolden the section of these verses that tells you what your response should be in light of who Christ is. And this is critical for us to understand, because this is really where we find the health of what it means to journey with Jesus. Because so often our tendency is, while we might see what Christ has done, is to turn to religion rather than be embraced in the arms of Christ.

And here's what he's saying to us, is that in verse 23, that you would fear the Lord, which means that you would have reverence for who God is. That as Christ has surrendered his life for you, that you would surrender your life to him. That you would see the greatness of this God and it would invite you, it would endear you to the love of this God, and that you would walk faithfully with him as you surrender your life to him, and just recognize that the greatest gift that you could offer this morning to the Lord is not something that you necessarily do, but simply your heart. More than anything, what God is interested in in your life right now is not your performance, but simply you. Not to impress God with who you are, but to look at this Psalm and allow your heart to be enveloped in a God who has impressed you with who he is. Because God knows if he gets your heart, he changes your life.

I can even take time this morning to call out all sorts of sin that we might struggle with as people. All the temptations that we give in to, all the reasons that Jesus would have gone to the cross. But can I tell you, for all of us, the solution is the same. The solution is the same in recognizing that if you ever stray in your life towards a path of sin, what you're doing is endearing your heart to it. You're worshiping things of this world and finding your identity in those things. But the solution in all of those things is to set them all aside and allow your heart to engulf itself in the worship of who Christ is, to surrender your life to him. It's not to impress God with who you are, but to see the extent that Jesus was willing to go for you and for me, that we would praise him.

John Newton, the great writer of Amazing Grace, who was formerly a slave trader that gave his life to Christ, as he got to the latter part of his life, he recognized that his memory started to fade. But he said this. I still cling to one thought. I am a great sinner, but I have an even greater Savior.

The significance of who Jesus is and what that means for us brings us to this last point in your notes. The cross is for all peoples and will be proclaimed to future generations. The cross is for all peoples and will be proclaimed to future generations. And you see this for the rest of the psalm, right? Verse 25, from you comes my praise in the great congregation. My vows are performed before those who fear him, says Jesus in verse 26, the afflicted shall eat and be satisfied. Those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. Verse 29, all the prosperous of the earth eat and worship. Before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him. It shall be told of the Lord to coming generations. They shall come and proclaim his righteousness to all people yet unborn, that he has done it.

All that was necessary for your life to find freedom in him is not borne on your shoulders, but his. One of the most theologically powerful phrases that your soul could learn to embrace. He has done it. It's similar to the phrase Jesus gave us on the cross in John 19, verse 30. It is finished.

I don't know why the sinfulness of humanity struggles so hard with this phrase more than any other. For whatever reason, we feel like there's limitations to the extent that Jesus was willing to go for you and for me. And we say things like this, well, I believe Jesus might love most people, but can he really love me? I need to fix some things in my life first before I come to him. Or I need to get some things right, or I need to impress God with who I am. And none of those thoughts are truly embracing what Jesus has declared over our lives. He has done it.

Let me use this last illustration to close. There was once a story of a farmer and a carpenter. And one day the farmer goes and visits his friend who is the carpenter, and he just shares with him how God has transformed his life, how he put his trust in Jesus and everything Jesus had accomplished for him at the cross, and now his life given over to the Lord, he's following after him. But the carpenter keeps responding, surely it can't be that easy. Surely there's something more I need to do. Surely there's something I have to impress God with before God will embrace me. Finally, after going back and forth for some time, the farmer just simply shared with him, Jesus is more than enough. And he departed.

But on his way out, he asked the carpenter. He said, my farm is in need of a gate. Will you build a gate for this particular section of my farm? And so the carpenter did, and finally the carpenter completed the gate, and he contacted the farmer. And the farmer shows up in his wagon, and he picks up the gate, and he takes it back to his farm, and he hangs the gate. And he contacts his friend the carpenter and says, I've hung the gate. I want you to stop by when you have some time, and I want you to see it. It looks great. And so the carpenter came to the farmer's place, and he visited the farmer, and as he arrives there, sure enough, he sees the farmer standing next to the gate. And he's really impressed with how everything turned out. But then the farmer turns to the carpenter and says, but I'm going to add a few of my own marks to just finish this off. And so the farmer picks up an ax and the carpenter starts to panic. He says, why in the world would you want to add anything to this gate? It's been done in a beautiful way. There's nothing more that you can add to this. And the farmer starts to swing and the farmer starts to mark up the gate and the carpenter starts to shout, why? Why are you doing this to the gate? It was already perfect. What you're doing is destroying it. And the farmer continued to swing, and sure enough, the gate is ultimately broken and destroyed. The carpenter asked, why did you have me do this? And the farmer responded, because I wanted you to understand that just as you built this gate in its perfect form, so Jesus offered his life in his perfect self. And anything you try to add to that is simply taking away from the beauty of what Christ has accomplished for you on the cross. Why would you think you need to add anything to this perfect God who has given everything for you? All that you need to do is simply embrace it.

Psalm 22 is one of those Psalms that recognizes the struggle of life. But in the midst of that struggle, the greatness of this God who has given everything so that we would realize in the moment of trial, rather than put our trust in our feelings, that we have this greater faith, because this greater faith is supported by this greater God who has given everything for you and for me. To invite our hearts in any season that we're going through, whether it's struggles that we have created by our own strength and following a path of sin, or the brokenness of this world, that we see the richness of a God who walks with us and in so doing, would surrender our lives fully to him.