March 28, 2024

“I Am” Chapter 1 – Day 3: Suffering Savior

David is a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). Although he made many mistakes and suffered the consequences, he had a real, intimate relationship with His Lord. His writings in the Psalms are raw and beautiful. They have, and will continue to, spoken to the hearts of those who read them. The Psalms reveal the humanness that we all feel – the pain, anguish, defeat, weariness, longing, sorrow and fear. They also show that despite those negative emotions, David continued to give thanks and praise to His God. He found joy in the Lord, in following the path set before him. I actually look to David as someone to model in this regard. Yes, he made some terrible, regrettable mistakes (me, too!), but his heartfelt prayers to His Lord are sincere and genuine. He laid all of his emotions at the feet of God, baring his heart and soul. Do you notice that many of his Psalms begin with anguish but end with praise and thanksgiving toward the Almighty? Through the process of praying and telling God his needs, his attitude is transformed from sorrowful to thankful. I think that is pretty incredible.

David anguished over being scorned and despised, poor and needy, insulted and lonely. He suffered and was in pain. Do you think any of those apply to Jesus? He was mocked, ridiculed, unfairly judged, harshly criticized, and unjustly punished. And this is the Savior of the World! His own people did not believe He was the promised Messiah!

As we read through the Psalms, we find prophecy of our suffering Savior, our Messiah, Jesus Christ. These messianic psalms were written hundreds of years prior to Jesus’ birth! The Great I AM knew that His begotten Son would be the Savior of the world. Every detail throughout the entire Old Testament all leads up to the revelation of Jesus and the fulfilled prophecies in the New Testament. Can you find examples of prophecy in the Psalms and corresponding fulfillment in the New Testament?

Savior_OpenArms

Sometimes we may have a difficult time relating to Jesus. We may have an inaccurate view of who He is based on our past or on preconceived ideas. We may see Him as this thundercloud waiting to strike us down if we do something wrong. Girlfriends, I just want you to know one very important thing as we begin this study – Jesus is and always will be LOVE. Satan will do anything in his evil power to make you think negative things about Jesus. That is the enemy’s job. Jesus loves every single one of us with an all-consuming love. That is why He came to earth as a human, suffered and died a sinner’s death. It was out of LOVE for us. He wants to know you. He wants to walk through life with you. There is not one situation in your life that He does not know about and want to help you with. He may not change your circumstance, but He just might change YOU.

Our suffering Savior is waiting for you with open arms. Are you ready to take the journey with Him?

God Bless You!

Jennifer

*****

Let’s Pray

Father God, thank You for the Psalms. They are filled with so much raw emotion that we can relate to on a very deep level. They help us through so many circumstances that we face in our lives, giving us hope and comfort and peace to take one more step forward when we just want to give up. We know, Lord, that You divinely orchestrated this entire world and every single one of us that live in it. Reveal Your power and love to each one of us today, Father. Give us the strength we need to fight off the enemy’s attacks. In Your Son’s Name we pray.

Amen

 

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Comments

  1. Beautifully written as always Jennifer. God knows OUR hearts. We can not fool Him. Just like He knew David’s heart. When David called out to Him, He knew whether he was sincere, just like He knows when we are sincere. You said “Jesus died a SINNERS death”, yet He never sinned. How much more can someone love you when they give their own life for what we did. He didn’t have to go through what we go through as humans; pain, anguish, defeat, weariness, longing, sorrow and fear, He CHOSE to. Praise His Mighty and Precious Name.

    • Jennifer M. says

      Yes, David had a choice just as we have a choice. It is what we do with that choice that matters and affects our entire outlook!! Good point, Mary!

  2. Paula Eslick says

    I so love the Psalms! They are beautiful, they show us what a true relationship with our Heavenly Father looks like, they show that while we have hardships, sorrows & trials He is always with us and even amidst these trials we need to praise Him. By praising Him, it may not make the trial go away but let’s us realize we are not alone. Praise Him for being God! Praise Him for loving us, praise Him for sending us His Son. Just praise Him. It helps me to know that Jesus went through & experienced the same things we did, Hebrews 4:14-16 comes to mind. Each day I am blown away at the love of Jesus & our Heavenly Father.

    • Jennifer M. says

      Me too! It is so important to know, realize, and truly understand that we are NEVER alone. Even if it seems like it, we aren’t. God is ALWAYS with us.

  3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqFsFY0M8WI

    I love the Psalms, too. There are times when I just need some encouragement and I will turn to the Psalms and read them out loud, so I can actually hear the words. There is truly something to being able to your own mouth speaking forth the Word of God!! Much power in that!!

    • Jennifer M. says

      There are times when I just don’t know what to pray or how to pray. The psalms are amazing prayers for times like these. I just open them up and start reading them out loud. There is something to be said about hearing the words from your own lips! Agree with you, Christi!

      • Karen Smidt Hester says

        I also use the Psalms to help me pray. It speaks to me about how God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is constant and never changes. This is a firm foundation to build my life and place my trust in.

        Thanks for sharing a great blog 🙂 It spoke to me

        • Jennifer M says

          I’m so glad, Karen! What better way to pray than by using the Word? It really helps me.

  4. Jennifer, this is so beautiful. It is an awesome feeling when we come to the place that Jesus is LOVE and he accepts our faults. Satan wants to remind us of that. The attitude, as you said, is the most important. He wants to see our heart and our character change. Thanks for that reminder

    • Jennifer says

      Yes, yes! But it is so hard to remember that sometimes!!! He wants to change us from the inside….we just have to let go of all the stuff and let Him!

  5. joann cochran says

    Beautifully spoken. Thankyou! As I read this I was imagining
    My Jesus with his arms open welcoming and loving me even
    as imperfect as I am. That love brings tears to my eyes. It
    Is hard to comprehend being loved that much. Thankyou
    Jesus.

  6. Beautiful!! As always Jennifer. This was such a beautiful section. David is so easy to relate to. He has done so much and triumphed thru because God is his Stronghold.

  7. I have this little card in my bathroom that has been there for years. It is my daily message every morning when I am getting ready for the day. Psalm 27:1 – he LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid?

    Whenever I have a rough spot throughout the day to deal with, I recite this verse. Lately, there has been a lot of talk about the horrible things that are to befall humanity before our Lord comes to take His children home. These are the words I cling to and hold dear in my heart.

    Thank you for this today, it comes at a time when many are scared of what is going on in our country and all over the world. God certainly uses his children to lift up one another. Blessings to you, Jennifer, and all my brothers and sisters in Christ.

  8. Sarah Boyer says

    This line spoke straight to my heart: David anguished over being scorned and despised, poor and needy, insulted and lonely. He suffered and was in pain. Do you think any of those apply to Jesus?
    I won’t go into specifics here, just wanted you to know you touched me & helped me to make another break through in a very tough time! <3

  9. Leslie Dendy says

    Thank you for the devotional…I agree with you that David is a good role model for us. Even with his imperfections, he was a man after God’s own heart. I also love how he could end with thanksgiving and that is a good lesson for me to remember. God is so good and provides just what you need when you need to hear it!

  10. Mary Noriega Huerta says

    This reading really spoke to my heart. I love reading Psalms. The are comforting to me knowing everything David went through God was with him. The Lord was with him every step and loved him. This speaks to me that He will do the same for me. Thank you Jesus for all that you have and continue to do for me.

  11. May I share from Jon Courson’s Application Commentary on Psalm 22:6? It gave me chills.

    The Hebrew word translated “worm” is tolaith. In Hebrew tolaith is used for both “worm” and “scarlet” because the tolaith was the worm from which red dye was extracted. The toliath would reproduce by fastening itself to a tree, dying in the process of bearing its young. The young would then eat the body of the worm, leaving a small scarlet spot on the limb of the tree. After approximately three days, the crimson spot would dry, white, and flake off like snow. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” Isaiah declared (1:18) and the word he used was toliath. …

    • Jennifer says

      Wow! That is incredible. Thank you for finding and sharing that bi will definitely be mulling over that one for a while. Amazing!!!

  12. Jennifer this was a beautifully written and thought through blog. The comparisons between David and Jesus…awesome!
    Loved reading it!

  13. Wonderfully written Jennifer. This is the passage that struck me tonight.

    “He wants to know you. He wants to walk through life with you. There is not one situation in your life that He does not know about and want to help you with. He may not change your circumstance, but He just might change YOU.”

    Now, of course I know all that but I haven’t been paying attention lately like I should be. But I was absolutely hit over the head with it tonight. First there was like 3 songs on KLove in a row same theme. Then I was like ok. I’m gonna take a shower now. :-).(Little avoidance on my part lol) So, I get out of the shower and read the bible study and come to read the blog and I am like BAM! There it is again! Guess I get the message loud and clear. Thank you for your beautiful writing it was what I needed tonight. I also got to Psalms when I’m not sure what to pray and I always find my way to where I need to be.

    • Aww…. <3. My pastor says that all the time (about Jesus changing us, not our circumstances). It's so hard to remember that sometimes, though, when we are facing serious issues. We must leave room for Him to have control of our heart. Praying for you 🙂

  14. The truth be known David stood by his mistakes and short comings accepting God’s correction. That is what set him apart. I bebelieve we own our mistakes our character defects if you would it sets us up for God to do a work in us. How amazing is it to know He loves us enough to set our feet on solid ground an loves us enough to correct us individually. Set us apart. Yes, indeed.

  15. Hi, Jennifer. Sorry I’m late to the party. LOVED your blog and the way you described David and God’s love for us. Because suffering is part of our life, Jesus experienced it beyond anything we could ever imagine. And He did it for us, not because He had to, because He LOVES us. We are so blessed. Thank you for your inspired words.

  16. Beverly McCormick says

    This is a test post to see if my computer is posting yet

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