We Cry

This week as we enter the discussion of the Psalmist's Cry in our small groups we keep in heart, mind, and prayer all the hurt and pain currently taking place in Japan.

So we cry.

LORD, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.

May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.
I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength.
I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.

Your wrath lies heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

But I cry to you for help, LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; I have borne your terrors and am in despair.

Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me.

All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.

- Psalm 88

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Who is this about anyways?

At one point some of the disciples come to Jesus and ask Him who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven... Then Jesus tells them that we must welcome little children as if we were welcoming God and that the least will be the greatest. (See Luke 9:46-48)

I love the phrase, "It's not about you." It's so simple, yet deeply prophetic in the culture we live in today. Our world is constantly creating, moving, and implementing more ways to revolve the universe around us. To have everything point back to us and say, "Yes, it is about you."

The moment we begin asking Jesus questions like "who is the greatest?" ..

We have already missed it. The kingdom of heaven is always about Jesus! And Jesus is always about the Father. And the Father is always about His children. And well, those who are really His children, are always about Him.

It seems like we often get so lost in asking questions about Why this happens... Why that happens... Who will be the greatest... Who will be where... Why is there so much hurt...

But it's not about us. It's all about Him.

So, can we know these things? Yes there are things God does reveal to us and teach us... But even if He doesn't, it's okay ... Because it's not about us.

That's the best part about Impact... you go somewhere, you clean, fix, and do things that are absolutely not about you but about God and about others. We worship God when we can get our minds off of ourselves and onto Him and His purposes in the world. Whether that's mopping a floor or whether thats feeding a starving child in His name.

It's not about you.