How Jesus Answers the Cries of Our Heart

Have you ever turned to the Psalms during a time of emotional turmoil? Most believers have found comfort in the words of the psalmist because his descriptive prose seems to give voice to what they are feeling. Many of us have favorite psalms—perhaps even some we’ve memorized—which give us hope in the midst of sorrow, fear, loneliness, or grief.

If we were to study the Psalms in detail, we would notice certain patterns. In the darkest Psalms, the Psalms of Lament, we would find a common structure. I discuss those patterns in detail in my book, A Heart Set Free. But one pattern I want to point out today is the way the psalmist often referred to God as his salvation. 

“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness” (Psalm 51:14). 

“Help me, O LORD my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!” (Psalm 109:26).

“Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth” (Psalm 74:12).

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation” (Psalm 13:5).

On this side of redemptive history, we know that God has provided for our salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ. After his resurrection, Jesus met some disciples along the road to Emmaus. They were talking about all that had taken place when Jesus was crucified and the hours after. Not realizing they were talking with the resurrected Christ, they said, “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21). Luke goes on to tell us, “And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (vs. 25-27). All those stories they had heard and read throughout their lives in God’s Word were about Jesus. He was the One they all pointed to. As the subtitle to The Jesus Story Book Bible says: “Every Story Whispers His Name.” 

Even the Psalms.

What this means is: Jesus fulfills all the deepest cries of our heart. Jesus is God’s ultimate answer to all that the psalmist cried out for. Just as the psalmist turned to God as his salvation in the midst of his sorrow, grief, and fear, we also must turn to Christ as our salvation in our own emotional turmoil. And just as the psalmist reflected on who God is and what he has done, we too must dwell on all that God has done for us in Christ. Jesus came to do what we could not do. He came to live the life we could not live. He came to make a way for us to be restored back into right relationship with God. He came to redeem, restore, and make all things new.

When we fear, we can remember that Christ has conquered our greatest fear at the cross, eternal separation from God. As Romans 8 tells us “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (vs. 31-32). We can remember that Christ is with us. He is our comfort, strength, and hope in all our fears. 

When we have sorrow, we can remember the Man of Sorrows, our Lord and Savior who bore our sorrows on the tree. When he cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he was voicing his own lament. As he cried that lament, he was bearing our sins, receiving the just punishment we were due.  In our sorrow, we can also remember that God catches our tears in a bottle and hears all our cries. We can remember that not one tear we shed is wasted; God will use each and every one for his glory and our good. But most of all, we can remember that there is coming a day where all our tears will be wiped away and sorrow will be no more. When Christ returns, all things will be made new. 

When we have been rejected, we can remember that our Savior was rejected. As Isaiah 53 said “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” He was rejected by the people he came to save. He was abandoned by his closest friends at his darkest hour. He knows and understands what it is to be abandoned and alone. But because he went to the cross, we have been adopted into the family of God. We are part of an eternal community. With Christ as our brother and fellow heir, we will never be alone. He will never forsake or reject us.

When we experience loss in our life, whether it is the loss of a loved one or of a dream or of anything else, we can remember that our Savior knew loss. He knew grief. He wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus. But because Christ lost his life for our sake, we gain new life. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). As Paul reminds us, "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Whatever trial, hardship, or suffering we experience, Christ is our hope. He is the answer to all our pain and sorrow. As the writer to the Hebrews encourages us: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Consider Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, the One who hears every cry of our heart and the One who answered those cries with a cry of his own: “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
 

On Lament, Habakkuk, and My Favorite Passsage

There are some seasons in our Christian life where we wonder where God is. Like a thick low lying fog that crawls along the ground, these seasons are dark and difficult to navigate. God seems—to us at least— noticeably absent. We call out to him and wonder if he even hears us. We plead and cry for his help but nothing changes in our circumstances.

While we know in our mind that God is always present, it often feels otherwise, especially when we are going through a trial. Or when all we see is sin and brokenness around us, it appears as though God is doing nothing. Our heart resonates with the sons of Korah, "Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?" (Psalm 44:24).

There's another place in Scripture where the writer wonders where God is: the book of Habakkuk.

Habakkuk's Lament

One of my favorite passages in Scripture comes from the book of Habakkuk. It might seem like an unlikely book for a favorite verse. It's not a promise like many favorite verses usually are. It's not a list of important things to do, like that of Philippians 4:8. Before I get to the passage though, I want to share more about the prophet with an interesting name.

Habakkuk was a prophet most likely during the time of the prophet Jeremiah. Unlike other prophetic books, Habakkuk doesn't prophecy to the people of Judah. Rather, the book is a conversation between Habakkuk and God. In the book, Habakkuk voices a lament to God. Unlike the laments in the Psalms, this one shows us God's response. In his lament, Habakkuk cries out to God. He asks for God's help, intervention, and justice. Like most other laments, Habakkuk responds with trust in God.    

The book begins with the prophet looking at the sin and idolatry around him and asking, "O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise" (1:2-3).

God responded to Habakkuk's question but not in the way he expected. God told Habakkuk that he would deal with the sin and idolatry. He would deal with it by sending Babylon to exact his justice. God would judge not only Judah, but their enemies as well. "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own" (1:5-7).

This was hard for Habakkuk to hear. Babylon was an evil nation. Why would God use them to punish Judah? Habakkuk responded and affirmed God's sovereignty, holiness, and power, "Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof." (1:12).

But he still wanted to know, why? (vs.13).

God responded by reminding Habakkuk that God rules and reigns over all things. God's purposes will come to pass in his time (2:3). He then went on to list a series of "woes" against Babylon, revealing the judgment they would face.

It may seem that evil is winning the day, but one day, God's glory will cover the earth, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" 2:14). For those of us who watch the evil around us in the world or in our own lives and wonder when God will move, this is a good reminder. As our Savior said, "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Through his perfect life, sacrificial death, and resurrection from the grave, Christ has conquered sin and death. He is the great Overcomer. He has won the victory. As believers, we are called to live by faith in what Christ has done. It is our present hope in this fallen world and the down payment on our hope to come in eternity.

Habakkuk responded with a prayer in chapter 3. He focused on God's character, describing God's mercy (vs. 2), his glory, power, and holiness (vs. 3-6). Habakkuk then went on to remember what God did the past and his faithfulness toward his people, "You marched through the earth in fury; you threshed the nations in anger. You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed" (vs. 12-13). 

Like other laments in Scripture, Habakkuk was honest about how he felt concerning the judgment to come, "I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us" (vs. 16). He was filled with dread and anxiety, such that his whole body trembled. Yet...

Even if...

The book of Habakkuk ends with my favorite passage, "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places" (3:17-19).

This passage is my favorite because it reminds me that my faith in God rests not in what he provides or doesn't provide, not in whether he moves in my life the way I desire or whether he rescues me from hard things. It reminds me that my joy is not dependent upon what I have. My joy is found in God, who is my salvation and my strength. Whatever my circumstances, whatever fears or anxieties I have, whatever darkness lurks on the horizon, whatever is happening in the world around me, God is my salvation and my joy. This passage is not only a reminder of what is true, but it's also my prayer that it would be the condition of my heart.

Habakkuk placed his trust and hope in the God who was faithful to his people in the past and trusted in his promises for the future. Jesus came as the answer to those promises. He is the answer to the suffering, injustice, and evil in the world. He is the One to whom all the stories of redemption and deliverance in the Old Testament point to. On this side of the cross, we can trust in God's perfect plan. We too can "quietly wait." We can rejoice even in the midst of our anxieties (vs. 16). Christ has come and is with us in the darkest days. And he will come again and make all things new. 

The Hope of Psalm 88

After a recent talk I gave, an attendee shared that Psalm 88 was her favorite psalm. For those of us familiar with it, we might hear such a comment and raise our eyebrows in confusion.

Psalm 88? Really?

Psalm 88 isn’t a feel-good, everything-will-be-alright kind of psalm. In fact, it’s the darkest one. If we put it to music, it’d be set to the tune of a sad country song—if not a funeral dirge. Hear the despair of the psalmist’s words:

O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry! For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. (vv. 1–3)

Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (v. 7)

O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? (v. 14)

While other biblical laments end on a note of trust and worship, this one ends without any light or hope. It simply concludes, “Darkness is my closest friend.” The end.

Despite the dark tone, however, there is hope to be found in Psalm 88. Here are four reasons...to read the rest of this post, visit The Gospel Coalition, my writing home today.

Happy New Year and a Giveaway!

It's a new year. And what a gift that is! I don't know about you, but too often I take each new day for granted. As the clock rolls forward from 2016 to 2017, we have to remember that each moment, each day, and each year is a gift from the Lord. "...since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:25).

As we rejoice over God's goodness and faithfulness last year and look forward to the grace he will pour out in our lives this year, I thought a giveaway was needed.

Many of us start the new year with a Bible reading plan, perhaps a new devotional, and maybe a new Bible study resource. If the book of Psalms is part of your reading plan for this year, then you'll want to enter my giveaway!

I have two copies to give away of my book, A Heart Set Free: A Journey to Hope Through the Psalms of Lament, a journal to write out your thoughts and prayers, and a devotional on the Psalms by Tim and Kathy Keller.

Enter below. US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Joy and Sorrow of Life

There’s a sweet children’s story titled, Because of Winn Dixie. The main character, Opal, has a friendship with the town librarian, Miss Franny. Miss Franny told Opal the story of her great grandfather who fought in the Civil War and returned home to find that everyone in his family had died while he was away in battle. After all the sorrow, he desired something sweet and made candies called Littmus Lozenges into which he poured all his sadness. Miss Franny gave one to Opal to try.

I ate my Littmus Lozenge slow. It tasted good. It tasted like root beer and strawberry and something else I didn't have a name for, something that made me feel kind of sad.

..."There's a secret ingredient in there," Miss Franny said.

"I know it," I told her. "I can taste it. What is it?"

"Sorrow," Miss Franny said. (p.113 and 114).

The Combined Taste of Joy and Sorrow

For believers, the combined taste of joy and sorrow is a familiar one. It’s the taste we live with every day in this fallen world. Even on days where we experience deep joy, there’s always the accompanying flavor of sorrow. And then on those days where we experience profound sorrow, there’s always joy right there in the midst of it.

This taste has nothing to do with candy. Our sorrow comes from an awareness that things are not what they should be. There’s sorrow over the fallenness of this world, it’s depth and breadth. There’s sorrow because we know how things began and what happened to bring us to this place of brokenness. There’s sorrow over how the curse of sin affects the world around us and that of our own hearts. There’s sorrow over how the fall comes to bear in our individual life through conflict, illness, heartache, and loss. There’s sorrow over injustice, tragedy, abuse, and death.

But then there is also joy. Joy because we are in Christ. Joy because we know God and are known by him. Joy because we know that God rules and reigns, no matter what is happening around us. Joy because we know that he is always with us and will never forsake us. Joy because God hears us and is our refuge in our sorrow. Joy because we know that this world is not all there is and that eternity awaits us. And joy because we have the very presence of God living within us.

Gospel Joy

In my book, I talk about how joy is always with us and how it is intertwined with other emotions, particularly sorrow. 

“Even when life is at its hardest, gospel joy is still there. It is always present, like an anchor in the storms of life. It’s what trickles through the cracks of our messy and sin-stained lives. Like a river’s current, it carries us through the challenges and pains of life in this fallen world. This is why fellow believers in Christ whom we know are going through a serious trial in their lives can still express their joy in the Lord. Even though their world is crumbling, even though they might be facing excruciating physical pains, they can still sing a song of praise because they have gospel joy co-mingling with their sorrow and grief. They can sing because Christ has set them free from all captivity, including captivity to their emotions. They aren’t held hostage by their emotions so that even through tears, they can sing of God’s amazing grace.

This gospel joy is why the hymn writer, Horatio Spafford could pen the song ‘It is Well With My Soul’ after losing four of his daughters at sea:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul, It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet,
though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Though sorrows, fears, and pains remain in this life and though they will revisit us throughout the course of our lives, we have the constant undercurrent of joy always there with us.” (p.139-140).

As I’ve gotten older, my taste buds have changed. Things I didn’t care to eat when I was younger, I now enjoy. Also as I’ve gotten older, the combined taste of joy and sorrow is more profound. It’s an everyday taste, one that has become part of me. Perhaps this taste has grown with more life experience or the loss of naiveté or a greater and greater awareness of just how fallen the world is. Perhaps it is all of it combined. But each day I have reason both to lament and to hope in Christ.

Our Savior summed it up best, “In this world you will have sorrow, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” As believers, we face the reality that sorrow is real and that we are to expect it in this world. But at the same time, we have hope. Christ has conquered sin and death. We are redeemed. And he is present with us until the end. He is our joy in the midst of all the sorrows and heartaches of life. 

Do you know the combined taste of joy and sorrow?

Making a Correction

As a writer, I make many mistakes. I make punctuation and spelling errors. I make content errors. I write things that aren't clear. I write things and then wish I hadn't. Sometimes my editors catch the errors before a piece is published. Sometimes a friend will spot a mistake in a blog post and I can go back in a fix it. But when something is published in a book, it's not that easy to go back and change it. 

So when a reader kindly pointed out a concerning statement in my book, A Heart Set Free, I decided to write this blog post in an effort to point it out for other readers. It's in the chapter titled, "Jesus and the Psalms" where I write about how the Psalms point to Christ. On page 74 it reads, "While during the Old Testament era, the Psalms were sung to Yahweh, God the Father, it is appropriate for us as Christians to sing and pray these Psalms to Jesus the Son." Some might read the statement and think that I am saying that God the Father and God the Son are not one. It could be read as non-Trinitarian. This was not my intention and I apologize for the error. The section should have gone on to say that as Yahweh is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and because the Psalms are ultimately about Christ, and because Jesus is the second person of the Trinity and is fully God, we can sing the Psalms and laments to him.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. And thanks for reading!