As I was reading through Psalms yesterday, there was one verse which particularly spoke to me. In light of recent events, the words seemed to jump off the page. And as so often happens, the words stuck in my mind as I pondered them.
"Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord heard me and set me free." Psalms 118: 5
Distress can mean many things to many people. Usually the word summons images of calamity and destruction, trauma and devastation. For me 'distressed' has been indicative of my state of mind over the past six weeks or so.....the state of my emotions at other times. My spiritual and emotional distress pales in comparison to those whose distress encompasses loss of life and home...is miniscule when held up to the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado.
"Out of my distress I called upon the Lord;" in reading those words I don't know what kind of 'distress' the writer was experiencing and it really doesn't matter. Whatever pain, illness, indecision, uncertainty etc., the writer felt he "called upon the Lord." Did God hesitate and ask how much distress the writer felt? No. "The Lord heard me and set me free." As simple as that.
"Out of my distress I called upon the Lord." That is what I do now. When I hurt, when I don't know what to do, when I am uncertain, when I am tempted......I call upon the Lord.....I shout His name...I walk around my home praying, talking aloud to God, pouring out my heart to Him. And He hears me and sets me free.....free from the burden of my own personal distress.....free from wondering how I will get through it all. I am free to rest in Him and let Him heal the hurts I can't handle on my own.
That is His gift to all of us....... in our distress we can call upon Him and He will set us free....if we let Him.
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