Monday, April 9, 2007

"I know how you feel, papa!"

Recently, I needed some space to process an unexpected event—some alone time to try and make sense of a situation.
In midst of it our three-year old granddaughter, Abbie, was visiting and was persistent in her desire for attention from papa.

Finally, she came into the kitchen, where I was trying to console myself with food, looked up at me and said, “I know how you feel, papa. I know how you feel.”

Now how does a three-year old know how to say something like that? And, aren’t grandparents supposed to be the ones who kiss “ouchy-booboos’? Here she was ministering to my pain.

Saturday afternoon, the day before Easter, I was spending some quiet time on our patio, preparing for that evening’s Easter service. Before me was Psalm 116:8–9:

“For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.”

Suddenly, it hit me!

While we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at Easter, we, also, celebrate our own resurrection. God, through Jesus, has delivered our souls from death, so that we may now walk before the Lord in the land of the living!

In the challenge of a moment, in the pressures of life, the unexpected pain, the twisted turn of events, the death-defeating Jesus says to us as we walk the resurrection journey, “I know how you feel, my child. I know how you feel.”

The words of Psalm 116:8—9 become real. They become life. They kiss the ouchy-booboo. They become worship. They celebrate Christ’s resurrection! They my resurrection!

“For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.”

“You know how I feel, Jesus, You know how I feel!”

2 comments:

Hale-Yeah! said...

that was beautiful. It constantly amazes me that a God, no THE God, will take part in my own little life. Thanks for the "word picture", I really needed it. You are the word picture king.

Marci Horton said...

I too can not believe that God takes such an interest in my life on a daily basis, and even more I can not believe that he died for me. I recently recieved a CD by the Prestonwood choir named Tell The Story that has some wonderful songs on it. However, one song keeps coming to my mind over and over again. It's name is "Unfailing Love" in this song it says "I see you hanging there, I see you're nail pierced hands, for me you paid the price for me, I see your wounded side, I hear your lonely cries, for me you paid the price for me, It was unfailing love Grace by your Blood, come over me until I see your Unfailing Love. Isn't it amazing that God knows how we feel but do we really know how God feels? His Love is truly unfailing and the fact that he loves us as sinners is truly amazing. I can't even imagine how God feels about Me and others yet he Knows how each one of us feels daily and he loves us daily although we do not deserve his love I am so thankful for a God who loves me with an Unfailing Love.

Marci Horton