Okay so, I shouldn’t keep being surprised by how God works but I am! I had made up my mind that I was going to skip my blog today. Wasn’t feeling it and I really didn’t have a concrete word or story to tell until… I decided I was going to spend this raining night getting into my Word and just going with the flow. I didn’t have a lesson to follow along with or a CD, I just randomly turned to a chapter in the book of Psalm and lo and behold I run across a chapter that spoke directly to what I was feeling.
If you can relate to this chapter, you’ve been through some things. You’ve felt hopeless. You’ve felt like God has forgotten about you. You’ve felt beat up and abused. You’ve felt taken advantage of and mistreated. You’ve felt abandoned and left to figure the mysteries of the world out all alone. In short, you’ve felt like giving up. Let this be encouragement to you that you are not alone, but even better, that God has it all under control. After reading this one chapter, the visions that God placed on my heart became much clearer. Everything, and I mean everything I go through, whether I bought it on myself or not, is a teachable moment to build me up so that I’m equipped to take over! I don’t see how people do it without a relationship with Christ and I don’t ever want to know. The fact that I’m able to have a GENUINE smile on my face regardless of what I’ve been through or face ahead is a testament to His unmatched love and for that I can’t help but smile.
Psalm 22 is for fighters only. It’s not for the weak or those that quit in the midst of adversity. It’s for those that no matter the situation, no matter how many attacks come against them, how impatient or helpless they feel… after the tears, they brush themselves off and stand on what they believe. They know where their help comes from and they’re not afraid to call on Him.
Psalm 22
A David Psalm
1-2 God, God…my God! Why did you dump me
miles from nowhere?
Doubled up with pain, I call to God
all the day long. No answer. Nothing.
I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.
3-5 And you! Are you indifferent, above it all,
leaning back on the cushions of Israel’s praise?
We know you were there for our parents:
they cried for your help and you gave it;
they trusted and lived a good life.
6-8 And here I am, a nothing—an earthworm,
something to step on, to squash.
Everyone pokes fun at me;
they make faces at me, they shake their heads:
“Let’s see how God handles this one;
since God likes him so much, let him help him!”
9-11 And to think you were midwife at my birth,
setting me at my mother’s breasts!
When I left the womb you cradled me;
since the moment of birth you’ve been my God.
Then you moved far away
and trouble moved in next door.
I need a neighbor.
12-13 Herds of bulls come at me,
the raging bulls stampede,
Horns lowered, nostrils flaring,
like a herd of buffalo on the move.
14-15 I’m a bucket kicked over and spilled,
every joint in my body has been pulled apart.
My heart is a blob
of melted wax in my gut.
I’m dry as a bone,
my tongue black and swollen.
They have laid me out for burial
in the dirt.
16-18 Now packs of wild dogs come at me;
thugs gang up on me.
They pin me down hand and foot,
and lock me in a cage—a bag
Of bones in a cage, stared at
by every passerby.
They take my wallet and the shirt off my back,
and then throw dice for my clothes.
19-21 You, God—don’t put off my rescue!
Hurry and help me!
Don’t let them cut my throat;
don’t let those mongrels devour me.
If you don’t show up soon,
I’m done for—gored by the bulls,
meat for the lions.
22-24 Here’s the story I’ll tell my friends when they come to worship,
and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:
Shout Hallelujah, you God-worshipers;
give glory, you sons of Jacob;
adore him, you daughters of Israel.
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.
25-26 Here in this great gathering for worship
I have discovered this praise-life.
And I’ll do what I promised right here
in front of the God-worshipers.
Down-and-outers sit at God’s table
and eat their fill.
Everyone on the hunt for God
is here, praising him.
“Live it up, from head to toe.
Don’t ever quit!”
27-28 From the four corners of the earth
people are coming to their senses,
are running back to God.
Long-lost families
are falling on their faces before him.
God has taken charge;
from now on he has the last word.
29 All the power-mongers are before him
—worshiping!
All the poor and powerless, too
—worshiping!
Along with those who never got it together
—worshiping!
30-31 Our children and their children
will get in on this
As the word is passed along
from parent to child.
Babies not yet conceived
will hear the good news—
that God does what he says.
Don’t worry about the attacks. Unlike man, God is a keeper of His Word and will always make good on his promises. That’s real love.
Be BOLD,
Be FABULOUS,
Be YOU!
Tuesday with Bianca
Tuesdays with Bianca 
Selah. That is a great word for any one who has ever thought about giving up, yet is here to tell the story. We have to remember that in all we go through that God has never left us nor forsaked us! He is AWESOME!
Truth!! He is indeed!
Amen! Well said. Hope you have a great day…thanks for posting this.
Thank you Brian for reading and support B&F! Hope you have a great day as well! ~ Bianca