transcending the chaos

All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the LORD,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the LORD,

and he rules over the nations.

Psalm 22:27-28

Psalm 22 is a gospel-saturated masterpiece of prophetic poetry, all centered around the suffering of the Son of God, and His exaltation and deliverance. Some bible scholars go so far as to speculate that Jesus did more than quote the first verse from the cross... He may have sung out this Psalm in its entirety.

Although it begins as a song of suffering, it ends as a confident assertion of God’s deliverance and power. It begins with feeling that God has forsaken His king. It is filled with trial and suffering. The psalm remembers how God has historically cared for His people (Psalm 22:4-5). It confidently transitions into a commitment to praise God Who delivers those who trust Him in affliction (Psalm 22:22-26). This song calls us to have faith in times of our worst fear. It calls us to trust God in our trouble. It leads us to praise while in a predicament. It promotes confidence during our chaos. And for that reason it is a perfect reminder for us today.

2020 has been chaotic. I’m nearly 57. My childhood was spent witnessing social upheaval in the 60’s and 70’s in a decades long set of changes. I witnessed revolution and racial tension when I was a child. Now I am seeing it all again. But this time it is not playing out in a matter of years, but in a matter of days, and I am an adult. So much seems different. My teenage and young adult years were lived under the threat of nuclear war. But then the rhetoric from politicians from both sides was smooth... spoken by careful communicators. And somehow the Cold War accomplished the toppling of a Soviet threat peacefully. But today, populist hothead leaders actually make the 80’s and early 90’s feel so much safer! 

Now, in this chaos, is the time to remember... kingship belongs to the Lord. He rules the nations. His will transcends the chaos. Jesus, in the hope of the gospel, is ending these tensions by making one body of many people worldwide. The united church can grasp hands of many colors and show the power of God to bring people together where sin and hate separate. The gospel will be the only hope to bring the people of the earth together. Because Jesus suffered, died, and rose again, we can see the worst hells ended on earth. It is in that hope that I will trust and live!