With the kids on the bus and my littlest still snuggled in his bed, I sit at my computer. The only noise in the house is the sound of the dishwasher running in the background. I love these silent moments, praying, thinking, writing, preparing content to share with you all for the week. Between sips of coffee, my fingers run uninterrupted across the keyboard.
Not before long, though, the silence is interrupted with a cry from the room down the hall. It starts with a little whimper, maybe a groan, then silence again. These waking noises are repeated for a few minutes until, finally, his little 2-year-old brain is fully alert.
“Mommy, get me out of here,” he calls from his bed. Sometimes, I go right away to his room and his big blue eyes smile up at me, ready to start the day. Other days, I let him jabber in his crib just a little longer as I finish up the final sentences or hit schedule on one more post. The longer he waits, the more insistently he cries out, “Mommy, get me out of here.”
Now, I don’t think my toddler, eager to start his day, is in distress, but nonetheless, he cries out. And I can’t help but think about the times I’ve cried out to the Lord, “God, get me out of here.”
In the distress of anxiety, “God, I feel trapped within these thoughts, get me out of here.”
In the distress of sorrow, “God, this grief is suffocating me, get me out of here.”
In the distress of fear, “God, I am so scared right now, get me out of here.”
In the distress of pain, “God, this is more than I can bear, get me out of here.”
In the distress of uncertainty, “God, I don’t know why this is happening or what lies ahead, get me out of here.”
And with each cry of my heart, audible or silent, “from His temple, He heard my voice and my cry to Him reached His ears” (Psalm 18:6b).
Isn’t there such beautiful assurance in this truth from God’s word? That no matter what kind of distress we’re in, God hears our cries. Our prayers reach His ears. Even if we don’t get immediate answers or deliverance, we can trust and rest in the fact that we have been heard.
David’s Psalm goes on to tell of the ways the Lord delivered Him from trouble. Later he writes, “For you [God] equipped me with strength for the battle” (Psalm 18:39a).
And friend, I have to believe that God will do the same for you and me. When we cry out to Him in distress, He will equip us with strength for the battle.
I don’t know the battle you’re facing this week. I don’t know whether it’s anxiety, sorrow, fear, pain, or uncertainty. But I do know that if you cry out to God, your voice will reach His temple. And I am confident that He will equip you with strength for the battle.
So let’s cry out to Him in our distress and trust that He will hear us, come to us, and deliver us—maybe not in the way we expect, but in a way that meets the needs of our heart exactly where we are.
Lord,
Thank you for hearing my cries of distress. Thank you for always bending down to listen to me. God, I'm crying out today. I need you. Father, equip me with strength for this battle. I know you hear me and I know you go before me. Give me the confidence to follow you through this.
In Your will, through Your power, and for Your glory,
Amen
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