PROMISED HELP.

Promised Help

The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. . . . The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.Psalm 34:15, 17-18

Someone once said that when we sail through life without a trial or a sorrow, we may slide by without knowing Jesus, but in our suffering, we discover true fellowship with him. God never promised us a problem-free Christian life, but this psalm gives us several assurances about how God responds to us when troubles come. He promises his watch care, his attentiveness to our cries for help, his closeness, and his deliverance. Even the fact that we are counted among “those who do right,” or “the righteous,” and are thus eligible to receive this promised assurance is a result of the finished work of Christ on the cross. No matter what we are going through today, these are powerful reasons for praise. So speak to God, for he hears you. And remember, when your heart is breaking, he is most close to you, and he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

LORD, it is such a comfort to know that your eyes watch over me and that your ears hear my cries for help. Thank you for hearing my cries, for rescuing me when I am crushed in spirit. You are always close to the brokenhearted, to those who are in dire straits. I praise you for the hope and courage your promises give me when I am face-to-face with the most difficult of circumstances!

GOD PUTS HIS EAR SO CLOSELY DOWN TO YOUR LIPS THAT HE CAN HEAR YOUR FAINTEST WHISPER. IT IS NOT GOD AWAY OFF UP YONDER; IT IS GOD AWAY DOWN HERE, CLOSE UP—SO CLOSE UP THAT WHEN YOU PRAY TO HIM, IT IS MORE A WHISPER THAN A KISS.Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832–1902)