April 22: Jesus' Bloody Feet

Psalm 61, 62, 64, and 69

Psalm 61

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Psalm 61

To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. [A Psalm] of David.

¹ Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.

² From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me].

³ For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me, a strong tower against the adversary.

⁴ I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings.Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁵ For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear, revere, andhonor Your name.

⁶ May You prolong the [true] ^[a]King’s life [adding days upon days], and may His years be to the last generation [of this world and the generations of the world to come].

⁷ May He sit enthroned forever before [the face of] God; O ordain that loving-kindness and faithfulness may watch over Him!

⁸ So will I sing praise to Your name forever, paying my vows day by day.

Psalm 69

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Psalm 69

To the Chief Musician; [set to the tune of] “Lilies.” [A Psalm] of David.

¹ Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck [they threaten my life].

² I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overwhelm me.

³ I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail with waiting [hopefully] for my God.

⁴ Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would cut me offand destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully, are many and mighty. I am [forced] to restore what I did not steal.

⁵ O God, You know my folly and blundering; my sins and my guilt are not hidden from You.

⁶ Let not those who wait and hope and look for You, O Lord of hosts, be put to shame through me; let not those who seek and inquire for and require You [as their vital necessity] be brought to confusionand dishonor through me, O God of Israel.

⁷ Because for Your sake I have borne taunt and reproach; confusion and shame have covered my face.

⁸ I have become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother’s children.

⁹ For zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches and insults of those who reproach andinsult You have fallen upon me.

¹⁰ When I wept and humbled myself with fasting, I was jeered at and humiliated;

¹¹ When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword (an object of scorn) to them.

¹² They who sit in [the city’s] gate talk about me, and I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³ But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord. At an acceptable and opportune time, O God, in the multitude of Your mercy and the abundance of Your loving-kindness hear me, and in the truth andfaithfulness of Your salvation answer me.

¹⁴ Rescue me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from those who hate me and from out of the deep waters.

¹⁵ Let not the floodwaters overflow and overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up nor the [dug] pit [with water perhaps in the bottom] close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Hear and answer me, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness is sweet and comforting; according to Your plenteous tender mercy and steadfast love turn to me.

¹⁷ Hide not Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress; O answer me speedily!

¹⁸ Draw close to me and redeem me; ransom and set me free because of my enemies [lest they glory in my prolonged distress]!

¹⁹ You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor; my adversaries are all before You [fully known to You].

²⁰ Insults and reproach have broken my heart; I am full of heaviness and I am distressingly sick. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.

²¹ They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink.

²² Let their own table [with all its abundance and luxury] become a snare to them; and when they are secure in peace [or at their sacrificial feasts, let it become] a trap to them.

²³ Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually [from terror, dismay, and feebleness].

²⁴ Pour out Your indignation upon them, and let the fierceness of Your burning anger catch up with them.

²⁵ Let their habitation and their encampment be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents.

²⁶ For they pursue and persecute him whom You have smitten, and they gossip about those whom You have wounded, [adding] to their grief and pain.

²⁷ Let one [unforgiven] perverseness and iniquity accumulate upon another for them [in Your book], and let them not come into Your righteousness or be justified and acquitted by You.

²⁸ Let them be blotted out of the book of the living and the book of life and not be enrolled among the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those upright and in right standing with God).

²⁹ But I am poor, sorrowful, and in pain; let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.

³⁰ I will praise the name of God with a song and will magnify Him with thanksgiving,

³¹ And it will please the Lord better than an ox or a bullock that has horns and hoofs.

³² The humble shall see it and be glad; you who seek God, inquiring for and requiring Him [as your first need], let your hearts revive and live!

³³ For the Lord hears the poor and needy and despises not His prisoners (His miserable and wounded ones).

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them.

³⁵ For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and [His servants] shall remain and dwell there and have it in their possession;

³⁶ The children of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell in it.

John 19:30

Amplified Bible (AMP)

³⁰ When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

John 1:11

Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹¹ He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own—His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.

Matthew 27:29

Amplified Bible (AMP)

²⁹ And, weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head and put a reed (staff) in His right hand. And kneeling before Him, they made sport of Him, saying, Hail (greetings, good health to You, long life to You), King of the Jews!

Romans 15:3

Amplified Bible (AMP)

³ For Christ did not please Himself [gave no thought to His own interests]; but, as it is written, The reproaches and abuses of those who reproached and abused you fell on Me.

Matthew 27:34

Amplified Bible (AMP)

³⁴ They offered Him wine mingled with gall to drink; but when He tasted it, He refused to drink it.

It seems to me that my blog has often been about pain. But I keep reading in God's word about pain. So all I can figure is there is a need. There is much pain in our lives. And many times, we don't have a safe place to share our pain. One day, I was asking God, "Who can I talk to? Someone who is trustworthy and who will be supportive." He said, "Me." So I poured my heart out to Him. I didn't gloss over my feelings. I was transparent. Hey, you might as well be real with God because He knows your thoughts anyway. I've tried to comfort hurting people before by saying' "Jesus understands, He suffered too." They say, "But I'm not Jesus." All they need to do is read the Bible. There are countless men and women who felt all alone, had absolutely NO support, and were victorious in the end! It sounds very silly I know, but we are to embrace the pain. At first, it becomes even MORE painful. But as time goes on, God is able to do His perfect work in us. And in embracing the pain we allow God to turn the pain into glorious victory. 

Tragic. Evil. Twisted lies. Death. Tears. Loneliness. Anger. Shock. Grief. Gut wrenching sobs. Nightmares. Bitterness. Hurt. Questions. Numbing pain. Depression. Wanting to die. 

I beg and plead with you to take all of this and lay it at Jesus' bloody feet. Imagine yourself at the tragic scene of Calvary. Kneel at His bloody feet and lay it all down. Every day. Over and over. As many times as it takes. Please believe me. When you fall at Jesus' bloody feet and let His precious blood cover you, there is healing. 

"Dear Jesus, thank You for leaving all of us Your perfect example of willingly suffering. When we suffer, it seems so unfair. We are shocked and alone. ALL alone. You were alone as well. You understand. Please comfort that person today who is going through a truck load of awful emotions. And nightmares. And reliving it all. And screaming why. Over and over. Please cover them with Your cleansing, healing blood. I thank You for You do all things perfectly. I thank You for You are our Counselor. Our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, our Prince of Peace. Please speak peace to all who are alone and hurting. In Your precious name, Jesus, AMEN."