I’ve had chronic migraines for over 40 years. I’ve tried so many different treatments. Many people have offered suggestions for methods of relieving their pain or things that have helped for people they know. I understand this so much. The desire to help when people you love are suffering. It feels helpless.
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.”
Psalms 34:4-7 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.34.4-7.NASB1995
Sought: dârash, daw-rash’; a primitive root; properly, to tread or frequent; usually to follow (for pursuit or search); by implication, to seek or ask; specifically to worship:—ask, × at all, care for, × diligently, inquire, make inquisition, (necro-) mancer, question, require, search, seek (for, out), × surely.
Seek the Lord on behalf of one another. Ask. Worship. Be diligent. I love the image of following for pursuit. Makes me think of the widow and the judge (Luke 18:1-8). She just keeps asking. Listen to what Jesus tells the people after this parable.
“And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?””
Luke 18:6-8 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/luk.18.6-8.NASB1995
Two instances right here in these two verses. God will answer. We do not give up. We keep asking. I will admit to you in the darkness of this morning, heavy with cares for loved ones, for a job for Joshua, for pain in my body, that these verses remind my heart as well. At church on Sunday, we were meditating on a portion of Scripture, praying for God to speak through His word.
“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
Romans 13:11-14 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/rom.13.11-14.NASB1995
The night is almost gone. In the version we shared the wording was, the night is nearly over. The day is almost here which makes me think of these verses.
“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.”
Psalms 130:1-6 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.130.1-6.NASB1995
The Lord knows the heaviness of my cries. He knows the weight of my supplications. He hears me. He also knows my heart, he knows the times all too well, when I have sinned. The Lord is gracious in His forgiveness and cleansing. Here it is my friend:
I wait for the Lord. My soul waits. My hope is in His word. More than a watchman in the morning. The night is nearly over. I sit and watch for the morning.
More than those who watch for the morning: The poet used a vivid image to express his patient anticipation in waiting on God. We see a watchman in the darkness of the early morning, scanning the horizon for the first sign of the dawn. The watchman doesn’t doubt that morning willcome, but only wonders when, and watches for it diligently. So it was for the singer who watched for God and the help God promised to bring. © 2020 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik — ewm@enduringword.com
So, whether in prayer for others or for ourselves, let us stand and watch for God’s deliverance. It will come. He is faithful. He will do it. He will deliver us from all our fears. Remember where we started? Psalm 34. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him And saved him out of all his troubles.
So, we look to our faithful God. We will not be ashamed. This poor woman (insert ourselves, right?) cried. The Lord heard. We are saved.
I am memorizing Philippians 1 and keep coming back to this section where Paul is discussing the gospel being preached. You get the feeling that the followers of Christ are just frustrated with those who are preaching for selfish gain. And Paul says, so what? Don’t worry about them. And he finishes with this section with this verse that has been bumping around my brain for weeks.
“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”
Philippians 1:18-20 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/php.1.19-20.NASB1995
So through our struggles, our pain, our grief Christ is proclaimed, albeit imperfectly. Maybe today you are struggling mightily, may you turn your face to the birds of the sky and the stars of the night. And remember that your deliverance is near. (See my last post.) Through our prayers for one another, through the Spirit of Christ in us, we have hope!
Hope that is our sure foundation. Hope that declares that we will not be put to shame in anything. Christ is being proclaimed through us. Let this be our prayer today friends:
May we be bold for Christ. May Christ be exalted in our bodies whether in our life or in our death. May Christ be proclaimed. May we be known for our love for one another (even those with which we disagree). May the world around us know us by our love. And whatever hardships we face, Christ is lifted high.
I’ll finish as I started, with Psalm 34: And their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.
Amen. So be it, Lord. Amen. We are saved. We are never alone. We are rescued. Praise the Lord, o my soul.
Leave A Reply