The foot of the cross

“Relying on God has to begin all over again everyday as if nothing had yet been done.” C.S. Lewis

Trusting in God is something that is not always easy to do. It’s easy to trust in him when things are going well and worries seem a long way away. But when troubles mount up and solutions to problems appear to be unachievable we internalise our worries and try to fix everything ourselves. It’s easy to forget God in the midst of the panic, it’s easy to not go to him right away when the walls start closing in and desperation sends us into damage control. A good friend gave me a helpful hint when dealing with insurmountable problems. She said to me, “take your problem and imagine that you are putting it in a basket, and then lay that basket at the foot of the cross.” I don’t think I’ll ever forget her words.

Jesus is there for us, he knows what we go through, and he knows that sometimes our earthly existence feels like a “vale of tears.” He walked through the same valley and he went through the pain and torment that we experience. Jesus came to us, suffered and died, to make things better for us. The trick is that we need to let him do just that.

The foot of the cross is a place that is the holiest place in the world, and it’s where the blood of our Saviour flows down to wash away our pain. His precious blood covers over our troubles and fears and the cross is the nearest we can be to him. There we pray to him and there we open ourselves up entirely to his self-giving. Vulnerable, trembling and helpless, we sit on the cold ground, near his pierced feet, our basket of woes next to us. His compassion flows down endlessly from the cross.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18