When Crying Gives Way to Praise

“22 Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship, and punctuate it with Hallelujahs: 23 Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers; give glory, you sons of Jacob; adore him, you daughters of Israel. 24 He has never let you down, never looked the other way when you were being kicked around. He has never wandered off to do his own thing; he has been right there, listening.” (Psalm 22:22-24 MSG).

I am convinced that all eternity will not be enough time to praise God for what He has done for us. Now I know that last statement is somewhat non-sensical; eternity and time are two different things. Time ends, eternity does not. Never-the-less, my point is valid. I will never be able to repay the debt of praise I owe to the loving Heavenly Father for the sacrifice of the Son or the indwelling power of the precious Holy Spirit.

In the experiences of this fallen, temporary state of our existence, there seems to be times when it at least appears as if He who never slumbers or sleep has wandered off or has let us down. Again, recall to mind that the setting of this Psalm is the shadow of the cross when the precious Son was giving up His life. (Peterson in The Message quoted above correctly applies this passage to all God’s children–Israel in context but you and I by extension–while the NIV references these words to the Messiah, “the afflicted one.”) These verses read in the NIV: “22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation 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 disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” Now, again, the application of this passage to all who are afflicted is correct, but recall that the setting of this Psalm is prophetic and describes particularly the suffering of the Messiah upon the cross and His victory in the resurrection.

Here is my point: as dark and hopeless as things may appear, those of us who know Christ can rest completely assured that despite what we may think, the reality is, “He has never let you down, never looked the other way when you were being kicked around. He has never wandered off to do his own thing; he has been right there, listening.”

I don’t know what battles you may face today. I do know this: no matter how hot or bloody the conflict, no matter how fatal the blow may seem, God is still right there with us and the promise of sure victory has been signed with the blood of Jesus. There is coming a day when all our groanings and cries will end with a victorious Hallelujah!