"This poor man cried,"
Psalm 34:6: "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
This passage of Scripture was timely this weekend, as I suffered another setback in my physical and emotional health. My nerves shot off almost as bad as if I'd experienced another nervous breakdown, on the way to church no less! I arrived unsure if I could function that morning, asking God for help and asking what to do. The worship songs that morning spoke of God being my Rock, being my fortress, being my song in the night season. As I put those lyrics up on the screen for everyone to see, I wanted to cry as my soul echoed the longing for those things to be true at that moment. Then the sermon came, and Pastor preached from this chapter in Psalms, pointing out four types of prayers.
One type of prayer he mentioned was "HELP!" and he used the verse above to illustrate that prayer type. There are those out there who teach that it is an insult to ask God for help, that He doesn't help, He takes over, that asking for help implies the continued desire to do it ourselves and we need His help in the process. I'm not sure I agree with that assessment entirely. God expects us to live righteous and holy lives before Him, and expects us to be responsible with the brains, skills, and resources He's given us. But the Holy Spirit was given as a help-meet, or as one who comes alongside according to the Greek for "Comforter" in the New Testament. So for God to willingly choose to come alongside us in this quest to live pleasing lives before Him, then He is not living our lives for us, but guiding us, teaching us, and empowering us to live that life that pleases God. So in that context, crying out for help is something God honours and expects from us, because He knows we can't live this life on our own, try as we might. Elsewhere in Scripture, God says to call out to Him and He will answer.
So I got up this morning to reread this entire chapter for myself, in my private devotions. Once again verse 6 stood out to me as I found myself in prayer asking God to take over, because I keep failing, I can't do it on my own. In my case, "this poor woman cried."
It is a matter of faith and trust now, that I will see God answer that prayer as I seek healing from the hidden long-term damage to various parts of my body that control things the world would consider mental and emotional in nature. Medicine, whether natural or man-made, will only go so far. I need God to step in where I am failing, and make me whole.
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Thanks for your kind and supportive words this morning, Curtis. I appreciate your encouragement and your prayers.
As I read your blog post, I am reminded of just how frail we as human beings really are---ALL of us. Our "condition" that we deal with every day is really just God's way of reminding us that we are bought and paid for by His precious blood, and that we NEED Him.
While I do not have personal knowledge of the issues that you are dealing with, I do know that all trial, temptation, and tribulation, while they may not all come from God, are tools that God can use to bring us closer to Him. I am reminded of Job, who, when his wife recommended that he just "curse God and die" (Job 2:9), responded with one of the most candidly beautiful statements made in all the Bible. He said, "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10)
The fact is that both good and bad things can come from God, and He expects us to deal with both according to what He has commanded us through His Word. God expects us to trust Him fully, and put all of our faith in what He says He will do.
As your brother in Christ, and your friend, I will be praying for you, Marilynn. Remember, His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Curtis A. Chamberlain