Let me take us back to a Daily Prescription I posted five years ago. In the five years since I wrote this, I can honestly tell you that I have experienced difficult situations. I can also assure you of Who the Lord is and what He wants to do. Come with me and listen in on a conversation between a hurting man and his pastor.
“I cried unto Thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I” (Psalm 142:5-6).
“Pastor,” he said to me with such sincerity and hurt in his voice, “I listened to a preacher on the radio who promised that if I sent money to him, my situation would get better. He told us that we needed to trust God in a huge way and contribute generously to him and his ministry which would be, as he called it, ‘seed money’ for me to get out of this suffering. So I sent money. Then I sent more money. Then I sent even more money, lots of it. But nothing happened. Why didn’t God do what the radio preacher said He would do?” he asked. What a great opportunity to serve this wounded, confused, and hurting person. He needed to be reminded that even King David went through times of deep problems. The king said, “I am brought very low.” Notice that he didn’t send money to a radio preacher to get out of his problems. He “cried unto the Lord.” However, it was far more special than this. David said, “I cried unto Thee, O Lord.” There was a personal relationship that David had and that this man needed as well. What are you facing today? Do you know the Lord?
For today: The Lord Himself is the object of the Psalmist’s cry for help. This doesn’t exclude us from the help of those who are trained. However, no one can ever take the place of the Lord!