Tuesday, July 9, 2024
I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the mountains trembled; they shook because he burned with anger. Smoke rose from his nostrils, and consuming fire came from his mouth; coals were set ablaze by it. He bent the heavens and came down, total darkness beneath his feet. Psalm 18:6-9 CSB
A God Who Listens
David knew that God is a faithful God. He had called out to Him and seen His hand in his life over and over again. He wrote Psalm 18 from a place of victory. He was nearing the end of his life, and looking back he remembers the goodness of God, but he also remembers the desperate places God had delivered him from.
I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,and I was saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3
David begins with how much He loves God what God has been to him and done for him. God was David’s strength as He gave him endurance and the ability to beat his opponents. God was David’s fortress as He provided a safe place and protection. He was David’s deliverer as He made a way for him to get out of every dangerous situation. God gave David strength and provided protection with His shield and horn of salvation – for his heart and his mind. God was David’s stronghold as He provided him protection from his adversary. God is all these things for us too.
How does God respond to our greatest need, and how should that transform and empower His disciples?
We all know the desperation with which David speaks of. We have all felt at least some desperation of defeat, tragedy, death, betrayal, financial hardship, relationship loss, and more. These circumstances are unfortuanately sometimes the result of our own bad choices, sometimes no one’s fault, and sometimes the result of someone else’s bad choices that has directly affected our lives. There are countless circumstances in life that can cause us to cry out to God. But God is faithful and He loves us enough to give His Son so we could have forgives and eternal life. He would not save us to leave us. He listens to us when we cry out to Him. Just like David said, our cries reach His ears and He bends heaven to come to us in every circumstance. He comes to us in our pain and grief, in divorce and death, in every moment of our lives. He doesn’t leave us, even when we sin against Him. He cares about us and what happens to us. We can always cry out to Him and that should transform and empower us as His disciples. We always have access to Him and because we know that, when those hard times come, we can have peace in our heart. When we remember the the good things He already has done in our lives we can have faith, and that faith gives us hope. He is the only One that can give us that kind of hope. God has good plans and He loves us and wants the very best for us. We can persevere because we know He has the victory over every moment.
It is important to note that even though David professes all the things he knows that God is and what He has done, he says he will still cry out to Him. David knows God is faithful but he doesn’t just sit and wait for God to act. He praises God with adoration and expresses his faith in Him. It is helpful when we are feeling the weight of the world to speak, even out loud, all the things our God is. It is sometimes necessary for us to remind ourselves while we give Him the worship and praise that He deserves in every circumstance of our lives. He wants us to cry out to Him. He wants us to run to Him. He wants us to lament and leave it with Him. He wants us to trust Him and find comfort in His plans, even when we don’t understand.
