Utmost Anxiety

Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

Psalm 119: 49-50

Our first grandchild, barely over a year old, had somehow broken a front tooth. We could not figure out how it happened because his tooth had barely come through the surface of his gums when our daughter discovered it.

She and our son-in-law anguished over when it could have happened. They finally remembered a time about a month earlier when he had hit is mouth in the bathtub.

After a trip to the pediatric dentist our anxiety level skyrocketed upon finding out the treatment plan. Our precious little one would have to be restrained in some kind of contraption so that the dentist could give him the shot in his mouth and fix the problem tooth. His parents would not be able to stay in the room with him during the procedure. We all felt sick. Our prayers began in earnest that everything would go smoothly and as painlessly as possible.

As I thought about our anxiety I started to wonder how God must have felt when He knew what His only Son would go through to fix our sin problem. Jesus was restrained on the cross, punctured, and endured intense pain. Why? So that our sins could be forgiven and we could one day see the Father in Heaven. 

What anguish He must have had knowing that nothing could be done to alleviate the suffering His Son went through. To minimize what Jesus went through would not have led to our opportunity for salvation.

The procedure our little guy had led to a much healthier tooth. The agony Jesus experienced on the cross led to forgiveness of sin for everyone who believes and accepts it. 

God’s promise of salvation does preserve our eternal life. Hallelujah and amen.

Susan P.