Friday night a few of us women went to my lake house. We ate good food, drank wine, and talked about simple stuff and the complexities of life.
One of the gals shared an incident that made her cry out to the Lord for mercy. I started to wonder, “When do I actually cry out to the Lord?” I haven’t done it often. In fact, the one time I can remember was when my child was in danger and I had no idea what to do. Neither did anyone else. So in absolute agony I would lay my body over his while he slept and cry out to my Lord for mercy. It turned out the other gals had a few times they cried out. All our stories had one common denominator. We cried out of desperation. We were at the end of ourselves with no other resources left.
The Scriptures say, But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears (Psalm 18:6).
If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry (Exodus 22:23).
Take note. He hears AND responds to our cries.
It made me reflect back on the last two years. Some hard things happened but I don’t recall crying out to the Lord. At least not in the way we were talking about. I wondered why? Then it hit me: I thought I was at rock bottom, but I wasn’t. We lost our job, but we had money. We lost our friends, but new ones emerged. We thought our kids were lost, but they weren’t. We had our marriage, home and extended families. Truth is, I didn’t cry out because I still had resources.
And I see those resources as ways God provides in our pain. But sometimes the resources aren’t there. Sometimes we are left raw and stripped bare. And then, it’s then we actually get God himself. He shows up. He personally rescues. It’s then we know, like know, that He is real, He hears and He cares. I’m grateful for the resources. But my soul is anchored because even if they are taken He is not. He is there. I’ve experienced Him in the desperation. So have these other women.
Do you know when you cry out He hears and responds? Do you know you only cry out when you are at your end? And do you know either way He’s got you?
