It doesn't feel like a blessed day. Surely your heart is heavy for the devastation in Moore, Oklahoma. That's why I felt strange singing "Hosanna" as it played on Pandora this morning while I put on my makeup. It's a "lifting up" kind of song and doesn't match my emotions this cloudy morning.
Hosanna reminds me of celebration. Matthew 21, verse 9 tells us that upon Jesus' arrival to Jerusalem, the people spread their cloaks on the road while others laid palm branches on the road. They shouted,
Hosanna to the son of David!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!
They were glad he was there. While celebratory in nature, I think these words carry deeper meaning. My study Bible tells me that their words were both praise and prayer. The origin of the word Hosanna, means rescue, save. Like us, they were in dire need of a Savior.
Even though they didn't grip the magnitude of this man's presence, the long waited for Savior was in their midst. I love it, that the same words "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," were also spoken in the Old Testament in the time they were waiting for a Savior. Those words are found in Psalm 118:26. They come right after v.25 which is a prayer
O LORD save us
Today is a Hosanna kind of day. God be praised like every other day. But as we shout Hosanna or whisper the prayer through hurt and confusion, may we remember that He is our rescue, our hope. And though life brings us circumstances far from what any of us dare to imagine, He has saved us. He is saving us.
Today we live in the Old and New Testament sense of the word Hosanna. He is our hope, our prayer.... and our hope to come.
Pray for the hurting. Pray for the lost.
Pray that they would be wrapped in the light that has overcome the darkness.
My favorite lines from Hosanna by Hillsong:
Break my heart from what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause
As I walk from nothing to eternity
May we be so faithful.
Listen to Hosanna by Hillsong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXCoHxX1OC8