Exodus 35:10-36:7; Matthew 27:32-53; Psalms 34:4-10; Proverbs 12:4
NT: “From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” …Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and offered him a drink… But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. The tombs were also opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And they came out of the tombs after his resurrection, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:45-46, 48, 50-53 CSB)
After being flogged nearly to death and ridiculed by His torturers, He was rejected by His own people and forced to carry His cross to the outskirts of the city. There, He was nailed to the cross and hoisted up for all to see. As He hung there in immense pain and suffering, everyone around Him mocked Him. The sin and evil of all human existence (past, present, and future) was placed on Him, and for the first time in His life, He was separated from His Father. He received on Himself the punishment deserving of sin. He bore the just wrath for sin – and when all was complete, He gave up His spirit and died. When He died, the inevitable imprisonment to sin died with Him. The debt that sin demanded was paid in full. The veil that separated Holy God from sinful man was ripped from top to bottom, and a new and living way was opened to the Father. Captivity was made captive and the souls of the righteous dead were released from the grip of the grave.
Psalms: “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him! You who are his holy ones, fear the Lord, for those who fear him lack nothing.” (Psalms 34:4-9 CSB)
One of the overarching themes of truth found in the Bible is this: Seek the Lord, and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart. Half-hearted seekers aren’t guaranteed success. Those who outwardly go through the motions of seeking Him but don’t seek Him with their heart are not guaranteed success. Those who pay lip service to seeking aren’t guaranteed success. Those who lay their entire heart on the line and fully desire to find God – those are the people who will find Him. That was David – a man whose heart was after God… a man who pursued God, not a man who waited for God to pursue him. Even in his darkest and most challenging times, he sought hard after the Lord… and the Lord answered him, and rescued him from all… from all of his fears. David, because he fully sought the Lord, in the face of fear, could radiate with joy. If you look to the Lord, seek Him fully, trust Him completely, you will taste and see that the Lord is good… all the time… in every circumstance. So take the new and living way that has been made to the Father through Jesus. Receive His salvation… be found in Him… follow Him, and be rescued from all your fears.
Jamie Hicks 