Psalm 22.
The Psalm Jesus recites on the cross is a song that transitions us from lament to praise: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
When Christ’s followers feel alone, we might know in our minds that we are never truly alone; however, our hearts sometimes suffer a disconnect.
Picture Jesus lifted up on a cross opposite those who claim to worship the God of Israel. The imagery is surreal.
There He is with His mind focused on truth. Yes, insults are hurled his way, and people mock his faith. But there He is, suspended between heaven and earth, placing all of His trust in His deliverer and strength.
There He is, knowing the joy on the other side. There He is, fully aware that those who once praised Him are now the very ones holding the stakes that drove the nails into His hands and feet.
There He is, fully knowing that some will continue to reject Him while others will lay down their swords to praise and worship Him in spirit and in truth.
There He is, fully knowing that everything is laid bare before the Father. His Father, the One who rules the nations, will turn his mourning into joy and dancing.
There He is, still crying out, “Forgive them.” There He is demonstrating the self-control to not cop out and just be done but stay steadfast until His work is finished.
Psalm 22
He doesn’t come in only when His people praise him! He’s there in the middle of it, in the dirty, muddy, filthy, bloody muck. There He is, fully enthroned as King. We can choose to stay holding onto our stakes, or we can drop them and fall on our knees.
He’s right there in the chaos with us, enthroned whether or not we enthrone Him on our praise. I think we have mixed up this idea somehow. I think we have come to believe that if we can praise enough, He will come and be enthroned upon our praise. As if we could bring anything besides our crucifying pegs to the table, He’s prepared for us!
There He is, dwelling in the midst of us. I wonder how often we stand opposite what He has purposed to do demanding He get down off that cross and sing and dance over us, like He couldn’t do both simultaneously.
Psalm 22 proves something absolutely scandalous, in my opinion. It proves we can lift Him up and still crucify Him. But why? Why are we lifting Him up?
That’s the bigger question. What role do we think we have in all this?
Are we claiming that what we bring with our praise is our own anointing? There are questions we really need to consider.
It’s hard to think of those questions when we interpret what we read through the lens of our cultural understanding. One way of reading puts us in control, as if we’re holding the bottle and God is a genie who pops out if we rub it the right way. In the back of my head, I’m hearing, “Sorry, Brittany, it doesn’t work that way!“
We don’t get to demand our breakthrough. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works.
I wonder how many times I try to bank on what I think God should do because I understand Him one way, but God’s opposite from me whispering, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.“
The disciples wanted Jesus to fulfill their ideas since they pictured Him coming as some kind of political, militant savior. Well, that’s not what they got. They did get what they needed, though.
Why do we love Him? We love Him because He first loved us. Why do we praise Him? We praise because He alone is worthy.
Praise is not designed to be a means to an end—He is the beginning and the end! He is to be your praise. He ought to be your breakthrough!
I feel like we’ve got this idea of breakthrough backward. Instead of aligning ourselves with what He’s already done, we often position ourselves and treat praise like a weapon we use to engage the enemy, not a proclamation toward God because He alone is worthy. We often ask for a breakthrough like He hasn’t already done enough.
To what degree are we living in “It is finished?” Do we believe He’s given us everything we need to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony? What exactly is our testimony? That’s worth considering!
We don’t come to the table by praise. We come by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
If Jesus alone is your praise and your breakthrough, then your praise can be your breakthrough!
Is Jesus your end game? Is He the goal? Not revival, not a wave of goosebumps, not an experience, just Christ?
Wherever He is… that’s where breakthrough is.
Your breakthrough might be on the highest mountain or in the darkest valley. He’s not afraid of our mess. He’s right there in the thick of it. We can walk in a breakthrough when we walk with him.
We can walk through life’s trials in breakthroughs, even in depression, cancer, persecution, or whatever, because he’s already set us free. He’s already finished the work. He’s enough!
Paul and Silas already had a breakthrough in prison before God decided to move them out. Their praise didn’t break those chains. They would’ve praised him regardless. They simply chose to stay rooted and grounded in whatever God wanted to do. They trusted Jesus was right there with them already. They were already free!
I dare say we focus way too much on our earthly chains.
If you want to lift His name up in truth, you have to start with Jesus, not your praise. It’s not about what we can do.
Whether or not God comes the way we want him to, whether or not we feel the goosebumps of His presence; whether or not we receive physical healing in this life, His worth doesn’t change. He alone deserves our praise.
Therefore, as we carry our own crosses in the darkest night of the soul, even in our suffering, let us praise him. Remember that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
He is worthy, and that, my friends, is enough.
