Do You Even Understand?
DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND?
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm
of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn’t have an impressive form
or majesty that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering
who knew what sickness was.
He was like someone people
turned away from;
He was despised, and we didn’t value Him.
Yet He himself bore our sicknesses,
and He carried our pains;
but we in turn regarded Him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced
because of our rebellion,
crushed because of our iniquities;
punishment for our peace was on Him,
and we are healed by His wounds.
We all went astray like sheep;
we all have turned to our own way;
and the Lord has punished Him
for the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open his mouth.
Like a lamb led to the slaughter
and like a sheep silent
before her shearers,
He did not open his mouth.
He was taken away because
of oppression and judgment,
and who considered His fate?
For He was cut off from
the land of the living;
He was struck
because of my people’s rebellion.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
but He was with a rich man at his death,
because He had done no violence
and had not spoken deceitfully.
Yet the Lord was pleased
to crush him severely.
When you make Him a guilt offering,
He will see his seed,
He will prolong his days,
and by His hand, the Lord’s pleasure
will be accomplished.
After His anguish,
He will see light and be satisfied.
By His knowledge,
my righteous servant will justify many,
and He will carry their iniquities.
Therefore I will give Him
the many as a portion,
and He will receive the mighty as spoil,
because He willingly submitted to death,
and was counted among the rebels;
yet He bore the sin of many
and interceded for the rebels.
ISAIAH 53
DARKEST DAY
The secretary at my lawyer’s office gave me a call to let me know the papers were ready and asked if I could drop by Friday to sign them. A lump immediately formed in my throat and I felt like I couldn’t swallow. After months being drug through a horrific legal mess, my divorce papers just needed to be signed and my marriage would be over.
I pulled into the parking lot on that Friday and left my daughters in the car with their iPads. I locked the car door and let them know I would be back in just a minute—I just needed to sign some papers. I climbed the steps into the office and the chipper secretary welcomed me and asked me to have a seat. She then brought me a bottle of water, a pen and a stack of papers—all marked where I needed to sign. She then excused herself and got back to work.
The tears started falling and my heart was in absolute anguish as I saw our names at the top of the papers with a giant VS. between our names. How did we get here? My heart was kicking and screaming within me—this is not what I want! My thoughts turned to prayers—God, I hate divorce and I know you do too. I don’t want to sign my name to this. As I worked through the paperwork, tears streaming down my face, I wrote the date and all of a sudden realised that it was Good Friday.
The darkest day in the history of the world—the Son of Man, slain for the sins of the world. His body broken and bruised, poured out as an offering. I lifted my heart up to Jesus in that waiting room and felt His presence so strongly in that room. He had died for this very moment. My darkest moment — an unwanted divorce after being abandoned by my unfaithful husband was signed for on the darkest day in the history of the world. Jesus comforted me in that space and reminded me that He understood my pain—the worst betrayal, the worst suffering, the worst abandonment—He bore it all so that I would not have to face that moment alone.
Does He even understand? Yes—more than we could ever dare to imagine. He drank the cup in its fullness. Our Man of Sorrows understands our very worst pain. He endured it all, in our place, on the cross. Hallelujah, what a Savior.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Do you feel like no one understands you or the pain you've walked through?
(Ask the Lord to search you and know you (Psalm 139:23-24) and to look for places within your heart where you feel deeply misunderstood.)
How has feeling misunderstood isolated you from others? From God?
(The natural outcome for feeling misunderstood is isolation—from others and from God. Where do you see this within your own life? Spend time repenting of wrong thinking and allow Scripture to reinform your heart of truth.)
How does your perspective shift when you consider Jesus, our "Man of Sorrows" who was "acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53)?
(How does knowing this name and characteristic of Jesus change things within your heart? How does the “with-ness” of Jesus shift your perspective?)
What bible verses lead you to proclaim, Hallelujah! What a Savior!
(Spend time reading, reflecting, meditating on and memorizing passages of Scripture that move your heart to worship Jesus. May we recommend you start with a read through the book of John?)
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE NO. 7
For our final week of our Lenten lament series, I wanted to share a really special resource with you—the Her God Speaks podcast series, Hard Feelings. The Her God Speaks Podcast is a bible study podcast hosted by my best friend, Aprile Sweers. Aprile is an incredibly gifted bible teacher and I’m so excited to share her podcast with you today. Aprile teaches the bible to women at her church and then turns those teaching series into podcast episodes.
The Hard Feelings series is all about the Psalms of lament. As we wrap up our lament series, I wanted to point you towards some amazing teaching on lament in case you wanted to dive in a bit deeper. Aprile teaches through seven different lament Psalms, includes a really helpful conversation in each episode and then closes each episode with a personal testimony from someone who has walked through a difficult season. You just might hear a familiar voice on week 1 😉!
Head over to the Her God Speaks Instagram page or Facebook page to give Aprile a follow—she’s doing amazing things over there! For more information you can check out www.hergodspeaks.com Search for the podcast on your favorite podcast platform or find it at the link in her bio.
Are you listening to Her God Speaks? What has been your favorite podcast series she has done? We’d love to hear!
ABANDONED
"...Jesus cried out with a loud voice...
My God, My God,
why have you abandoned Me?
MATTHEW 27:46
O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God's face, but art now in darkness, remember that he has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when he shines forth in all the lustre of his grace; but since even the thought that he has forsaken us gives us agony, what must the woe of the Saviour have been when he exclaimed, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
CHARLES SPURGEON
BETWEEN
What do we do with the in between? Yesterday we grieved and lamented Jesus on the cross, the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world. And we know that Sunday is coming tomorrow—resurrection, hope, life, joy.
But what about today? Today we are caught in the “between”. Between grief and hope. Death and life. Ashes and beauty. We can’t rush from Friday to Sunday. We have to sit in the midst of grief and longing. We have to wait. But why?
There is something really sacred about the stillness of Saturday in the passion account. The disciples didn’t have eyes to see that hope was brimming under the surface. They were full of grief and despair, longing and fear.
But we are of those who see the dawn of Sunday.
And yet, here we sit: BETWEEN.
And really, isn’t that all of life here on this earth for the Christian? Our past has been defeated, ransomed and put to death by the blood of Jesus. And yet we are not home yet. We long for the day when all will be made new, tears wiped away, face to face with our God. We dwell between death and new life.
So where does that leave us? How should we live in this long BETWEEN?
With hearts full of gratitude as we cast our glance behind us and remember what Jesus paid for on the cross.
With eyes set forward on our true and eternal Hope. Our Dawn from on high.
And then we dig in deep to the ground below us, cultivating faithfulness today— this in-between Saturday. And we wait, because we know: brighter days are truly ahead.
RISEN
Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!
Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!
Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!
Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!
King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!
CHARLES WESLEY
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