Author: Kristen Kansiewicz, LMHC

Psalm 22:1-5 (NLT)

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. They cried out to you and were saved. They trusted in you and were never disgraced.”

As Jesus experienced the worst pain and agony of his life, he cried out with this psalm. While we cannot even imagine the torture of the cross, most of us have had a few “Where are you, God?” moments. When we are in the midst of desperation, we expect God to show up. We wait for the dramatic, last-minute miracle. And sometimes it doesn’t come.

When our despair and grief is not brought to a supernatural turning point, when hopes are dashed and disappointment seems to win, we can remember. We can recall the goodness and faithfulness of God to his people throughout history. Did he show up in each individual moment to take away the heartaches? No, he didn’t. But he did always come to the rescue of his people. He did not allow them to be disgraced. The story was never over when it seemed to be over.

When my circumstance is not good, God is good. When I am desperate, lonely, or afraid, God is good. When I have lost what is dearest to me, God is good. And his goodness will transform me, even if my circumstance never turns out how I hoped. His goodness will rescue me from a place where my situation dictates my story. In the kingdom of God, his goodness tells its own story and invites me to be a participant. That is when we are truly free because we are released from the role of main character. Everything comes back to God — and he is good.

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NLT)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,  and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.”

We finish the Isaiah portion of our Advent series today and we will spend the last few days before Christmas in Psalm 22, quoted by Jesus as he died on the cross. Our Expectation series has focused on the Messiah — who he was, who he is, and who he will be eternally. We have also explored what the revelations about the Messiah mean for our daily lives and the freedom we have access to because of Jesus’ life and mission.

Today we connect with the mission of Jesus. Because we are followers of Jesus, we do what he did. In fact, Jesus said that we would do even greater things that he did in his short time on earth. The Messiah received the Spirit of God, as have we, to bring good news to the poor. The Holy Spirit works among the hurting and broken. He looks for the burned down places and turns the ash into something beautiful. Everything becomes the opposite of how it seems.

Creation and restoration are Jesus’ specialties. Everything you see right now on the earth can be turned upside-down (or perhaps right-side up). Nothing is as it seems when the Holy Spirit is at work. I challenge you this Christmas season to be on the look out for the movement of the Holy Spirit in your life and the lives of those around you. What might he just turn around when you least expect it? His transforming power means you get to keep hoping no matter how dismal things seem. I dare you to hold on to hope.

Isaiah 53:10-12 (NLT)

“But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”

Imagine a ceremony for a soldier who had shown exemplary bravery in battle. Perhaps he had rescued fellow soldiers or overcome great danger. Jesus’ award ceremony is described in advance here — a heavenly ticker-tape parade for his bravery in facing death and triumphing over it. His sacrifice opened the doors for many others to enter the kingdom of God. In light of that, he considers his hardship worth it.

Let’s zoom in on the first sentence: “It was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief.” That’s a tough one to swallow. Have you ever faced a trial in your life and you wonder if God is somehow wanting to cause you pain? A lot of people struggle with anger at God for such difficulties. Here in this verse it’s plain as day: God caused Jesus grief and considered that a good plan. All that the plan accomplished made it worth the pain.

Any pain God brings into your mission will be worth it in the end. That may be a tough pill to swallow when you are in the midst of a trial. And not all trials are part of God’s mission — there is plenty that we bring on ourselves or our decaying world brings on us. But when you are spiritually battling and working for the kingdom to do what God has called you to do, the pain you face will be worth it when the results are tallied. People will be saved and set free, lives will be changed, battles will be won. Stay connected to the work God has called you to do and don’t give up. If God is allowing hardship, you may just be in the battle of your life for the sake of the kingdom.

Isaiah 53:7-9 (NLT)

“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.”

Matthew 27 is a fascinating read just after you have read the passage above. Jesus is betrayed, treated harshly, remains silent while on trial, and is led to his death carrying a cross on his back. Even most of his disciples were no where to be found in that scene — only some of the women and the disciple John stood by as he died. The type of death (by crucifixion) was a criminal’s punishment and he was buried in the tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea who was a rich man following Jesus.

The book of Matthew was written for the Jewish audience. The intent was to demonstrate the specific parallels between the Old Testament prophets and what happened in the life of Jesus. The details line up exactly because that is the point of the story. The fact that he clearly fit the description of the Messiah is the main point. There is no question that Matthew and the early followers of Jesus truly believed he was the Messiah who had fulfilled the prophecies long foretold.

God knew far in advance who Jesus was and how he would come. He gave his people all the information they needed to recognize him when he came. Yet not everyone believed that Jesus was the Messiah. How could this be? There is room for disbelief because people see what they expect to see. We do the same thing today. If you expect earthly systems and governments to save you (or legislate morality for the world) then you will look for your Redeemer among earthly leaders. If you expect the supernatural, you will see the Spirit of God moving in ways that are humanly impossible. No matter what, if God has said he will do something then he will do it. The Bible is full of promises we can expect God to fulfill as he delivers on his plan to rescue us.

Isaiah 53:4-6 (NLT)

“Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

This servant of God that we have been reading about, this man of sorrows — turns out it’s not his own sorrows he is worrying about. He was weighed down by the sorrows that own us, the sin that plagues us all and is destroying the world. From an earthly perspective, if we viewed Jesus as just a man who ended up getting killed for making a whole bunch of sacrilegious claims, then it would seem that his trouble was brought on himself. You could even assert that God had punished him for trying to claim glory that was not his. Yet we see here that it was quite the opposite.

If you think you are a pretty good person, you are sadly mistaken. We are bunch of stupid, smelly sheep who can barely think for ourselves. We think with the crowd, we compromise, we can barely remember God’s ways nevermind follow them. And God does not disdain us. He does not despise us. He loves us so incredibly that he was willing to be beaten and killed to make us whole.

You don’t have to try harder, be better, figure it out, or clean yourself up. Look around you and simply admit that your own mess smells bad. If you have gotten comfortable with your own brand of stench, try spending time with people who have a different kind of B.O. than you. Go to God together and ask him to clean you all up. He wants to make you whole. It cost him a lot to make that possible. He’s willing… are you?