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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Sunday, 14 December 2025:
Psalm 102:1-28 — Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you.
The psalm opens with raw desperation. This is not polished worship but honest pleading. Scripture legitimizes lament. Faith does not deny distress; it brings distress into the presence of God. The psalmist does not ask first for explanation or relief but for attention. When suffering presses in, the greatest fear is not pain itself but divine distance. God invites His people to bring their cries directly to Him, trusting that He hears even when circumstances feel overwhelming.
Psalm 102:3–7 — For my days pass away like smoke…. I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
The psalmist describes emotional, physical, and relational depletion. Suffering isolates. Pain distorts time, drains strength, and narrows perspective. Scripture does not minimize this experience. God records it. Loneliness and exhaustion are not signs of weak faith; they are part of living in a broken world. Yet even here, the psalmist keeps speaking to God rather than withdrawing into silence.
Psalm 102:8–11 — All the day my enemies taunt me… my days are like an evening shadow.
Opposition compounds suffering. The psalmist experiences both internal anguish and external hostility. This mirrors the life of Christ, who endured sorrow, rejection, and mockery while remaining faithful (Isaiah 53; Hebrews 12:2–3). Faithful obedience does not eliminate opposition; it often attracts it. The psalmist does not pretend otherwise.
Psalm 102:12-16 — But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever… you will arise and have pity on Zion.
The psalm pivots from personal pain to divine permanence and promise. Circumstances fluctuate, but God remains enthroned and faithful. This shift is the hinge of hope. Suffering shrinks when placed beside God’s sovereignty. The psalmist anchors confidence not in improved conditions but in God’s unchanging rule and covenant faithfulness. God’s purposes move forward even when His people feel undone.
Psalm 102:17-22 — He regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer.
God does not dismiss broken prayers. This is deeply Christ-centered. Jesus welcomed the weary, the poor in spirit, and the desperate, revealing the heart of the Father (Matthew 11:28-30). God’s redemptive work includes preserving testimony for future generations, reminding them that hope survives hardship. Suffering is never wasted when it is brought to God.
Psalm 102:18 — Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.
The Bible is, in no small part, provided to inspire you to praise the LORD, but beyond mere inspiration, the Bible is provided for transformation, to make you more like Christ every day as you share in the fellowship of His sufferings for sake of a lost world.
Psalm 102:23–27 — He has broken my strength in midcourse… but you are the same, and your years have no end.
The psalmist acknowledges limitation without despair. Human strength fails; God’s does not. This contrast fuels endurance. The unchanging nature of God becomes the stabilizing center when life feels fragile. Hebrews later applies this very truth directly to Jesus Christ, affirming His eternal nature and sovereign rule (Hebrews 1:10-12).
Psalm 102:28 — The children of your servants shall dwell secure….
Hope extends beyond the individual. Faithfulness today plants stability for generations tomorrow. God’s covenant purposes outlive personal pain. Even when life feels shortened, God’s promises remain expansive. This forward-looking hope anticipates the kingdom of Christ, where suffering gives way to eternal security.
2 Chronicles 22:1 — And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king….
Leadership succession reveals the consequences of prior compromise. Ahaziah inherits a throne shaped by spiritual drift. His rise is less about qualification and more about convenience. When leadership selection ignores godliness, instability follows. The seeds planted in earlier alliances now bear bitter fruit.
2 Chronicles 22:2-4 — Ahaziah was twenty-two years old… he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD….
Ahaziah’s moral failure is traced directly to influence. Counsel shapes character. His alignment with the house of Ahab perpetuates rebellion against God. Scripture underscores a sobering truth: leadership rarely collapses in isolation. Influence multiplies either faithfulness or corruption. Don’t be led astray by those closest to you, and don’t lead others astray. Good relationships are first and foremost about growing together in Christ. Everything else is secondary. If your friends or family members don’t share with you your goal of Jesus, you cannot be yoked together.
“Ahaziah…. walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly.” No person, regardless their position in life has a greater responsibility, ministry, or position than that of parent. There is no greater test of genuine leadership than that of parent, a position which costs greatly but comes with little glory. It is easy to get caught up in earthly pursuits and worldly measures of success and lose sight of our first priority in leadership. Even service to the church can be out of balance, robbing the family of essential leadership.
The first measure of genuine leadership is within the household and family. (1 Timothy 3) In the Old Testament, God built His kingdom by starting with one man, one wife, one family. God’s charge to parents was very clear: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise…. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9) In fact, God has revealed the purpose of his first institution of marriage: “Godly offspring.” (Malachi 2:15) Of course, children too have free will, and the story of the “prodigal son” reminds us that faithful parenting is not an inoculation for our children against rebellion and sin. Nonetheless, parental responsibility is clear.
2 Chronicles 22:5-6 — He also walked according to their counsel… and he went… and was wounded.
Poor counsel leads to shared consequences. Ahaziah’s participation in Ahab’s agenda draws him into unnecessary conflict and eventual downfall. Proximity to ungodliness carries risk even when intentions seem neutral. The pattern mirrors earlier warnings in Chronicles: alliances shape destinies.
2 Chronicles 22:7 — But this was ordained by God….
God’s sovereignty stands over human failure. This verse does not excuse sin but affirms that God’s purposes are not derailed by it. In His Sovereignty, God will allow people to experience the consequences of rebellion. Even rebellion, however, is ultimately restrained and redirected by divine authority. God brings judgment at the appointed time, preserving His covenant line despite human corruption.
2 Chronicles 22:8-9 — And when Jehu was executing judgment… Ahaziah… was brought to Jehu and put to death.
Ahaziah’s life ends abruptly. Scripture offers no redemption arc here, only consequence. A short reign reflects a shallow legacy. This is a warning passage: leadership without repentance leaves little behind. God’s patience is real, but it is not infinite.
As opposed to Ahaziah, Jehoshaphat was respected for generations because of his fidelity to God. How will you be remembered?
2 Chronicles 22:10 — Now when Athaliah… saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family….
Athaliah embodies unchecked ambition and spiritual hostility. Her actions attempt to erase God’s covenant promise. This is not merely political violence but spiritual warfare. Throughout Scripture, the enemy seeks to destroy the line through which God brings salvation.
There is no limit to what the godless will do, but nothing can thwart the Sovereign will of Almighty God.
2 Chronicles 22:11-12 — But Jehoshabeath… took Joash… and hid him….
God preserves His purposes through faithful obedience. One courageous act safeguards the Davidic line and ultimately the coming of Christ (Matthew 1). While evil seeks annihilation, God works quietly through faithfulness. Redemption often advances through unseen obedience rather than public power.
Jehoshabeath’s brave action at the critical place and time was used by God to sustain the lineage of the royal family of Judah. If you will be faithful with the moment, God can use you to do amazing things.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) — 14 December 2025: Interpret adversity through God’s providence. When obedience is followed by opposition, do not retreat or misread the moment. Recognize resistance as both refinement and confirmation. Stay connected to the Vine, receive the Spirit’s instruction, and press forward with gratitude, courage, and joy, trusting that God is working both for you and in you to produce Christlike character that blesses others and glorifies Him.
Pray: “Father, teach me to see hardship through the lens of Your sovereignty and love. Guard me from discouragement when obedience brings resistance. Shape my character through adversity and keep me firmly connected to Christ, the true Vine. Help me walk with gratitude, courage, and joy, trusting that You are always at work for my good and Your glory. Amen.”
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