(Republished by request – Thank You! God Bless!)

Psalm 34:17-19 (NAS)

The righteous cry and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Is anyone crying out to God for help? God is listening and He is ready to come to the rescue. I wonder sometimes where He finds the time to rescue all of you when it seems He is constantly coming to my rescue, but He is God and if His Word says that He hears and delivers the righteous (or those in “right-standing” with Him) then you can bet He’s listening. God is not a man that He should lie. (Numbers 23:19) Does He speak and then not act? Not a chance. Does He promise and not fulfill? No way. If God says He’s listening, then He’s listening and angels are on the way.

Is your heart broken? Guess where God is? He is right there in the midst of it. When you feel like you’ve been kicked in the stomach, God is right there to help you catch your breath again.

I don’t know about you, but I find myself all too often crying out to God for help. I face situations and circumstances that are too big for me to handle. Sometimes my heart is broken because of the actions or inaction of others. When they choose to abandon God’s love and protection for the love of the world, my heart bleeds for them.

At other times, I must cry out on my own behalf. My own temptations, struggles and downright failures keep me prostrate before God. Each time I face a mountain I’ve faced before, I crumble. How is it I find myself at this place AGAIN! Each time I face a temptation that I have all too often succumbed to, it takes me to my knees. You’d think I would have learned by now!

Life brings us tests and trials and if we don’t pass them the first time, God loves us enough to let us take the test again. He wants us to be good students and grow up to be mature Christians who can lead others to His Son.

Sometimes we are tempted to let depression and despair take over. Sometimes we simply over talk our troubles until we wind up giving satan more credit than he deserves. The financial troubles plague us, the family issues abound. There’s trouble at home, trouble at work, and sometimes even trouble at church.

It seems altogether wrong for Christians to suffer so, doesn’t it? But, it isn’t. The last verse of our passage today says, “MANY are the afflictions (difficulties, sufferings, burdens, problems, hardships, pain, trouble, miseries and misfortunes) of the righteous (those in right standing with God) but the Lord delivers (rescues, releases, saves, liberates and frees) him out of them all.

We often find ourselves in trouble, but God is there for us EVERY time. Not to bail us out, but to bring us through. He loves us so much that He is drawn by our brokenness. Our helpless cries are what He longs to hear. He allows us to struggle as long as we want, but when we call to “Abba”, Daddy God for help – He comes right away. Why?

Because now we’re ready to do it His way.

Go ahead. Exhaust yourself with crying on someone else’s shoulder if you want to. ME? I’m taking my chances with God . . .He said He’d be there for me . . He promised . . . and I’m counting on it!