Psalm Friday

He had Hope

Psalm Friday
Psalm 22, continued

Looking beyond the angry mobs that surrounded the cross, Jesus Christ raised His eyes toward heaven and had hope. He felt hope, He knew hope, He saw hope. Why? Because He remembered that this very moment had been appointed for Him before the foundations of the world and He knew that His Father, El Shaddai was in control. Jesus had confidence in His Father believing that His plan was best.

“But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust (hope) while on
My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From my mother’s womb You
have been my God.” Psalm 22:9-10, NKJV

Into the womb God had place His Son and out of the womb Christ was miraculously born. As hard as it is for our human minds to grasp, from His earliest years, Christ, the God-man, was on mission and literally cast under the protection of His heavenly Father. I imagine in those moments hanging on the very tree He spoke into being Christ recalling scenes of his early life - the poverty of His young, scared mother and father, the manger filled with the baying and neighing of nearby animals, the persecution by Herod, His families flight into Egypt and then their return, the safety which He then enjoyed from persecution in a distant part of the land of Palestine in the little village of Nazareth, the days He stood by the side of Joseph learning from this man who had been chosen to be His earthly father. I can’t help but think He remembered all those times His family sat together around the dinner table belly laughing tears streaming down their faces until their sides hurt.

Now, in this very moment, His side hurt once again, but this time it wasn’t because of laughter, it was due to the pain, that before the foundation of the earth, was meant to be inflicted upon the Son of God so that you and I could be restored into fellowship with God Almighty. Hope made this pain bearable. Confidence in His heavenly Father quieted the insults. Knowing that God had foreordained this moment to take place and that His will was going to be accomplished allowing all mankind the opportunity to once again enjoy intimate fellowship with God comforted the broken heart of our Savior.

Jesus Christ, in the midst of this great storm, had hope; He had trust; He had faith, because His God had been faithful from the very beginning. Are you in the midst of a great storm right now? Dear friend, you can have hope, you can trust in God and you can have faith that He is in control. From the before the foundation of the world He has had a plan. Before we were formed in our mother’s womb, He knew us and set us apart for His good works.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified
(set you apart) you; I ordained (appointed) you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5, NKJV