Psalm 37:17-19 "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the LORD delivereth him out of them all."
As Christians, we have a promise of deliverance through trials! A promise of His presence! And a promise of victory over affliction!
In verse seventeen, it says that the righteous cry and the LORD heareth them. I have been on my knees many times, crying out to the Lord in times of troubles for myself or for my brothers and sisters in Christ. There have been times that I felt my cries were never being heard and I wondered if God really cared. Of course He cared. I just had to be patient and allow Him to work in my life in His time. That verse says that the righteous cry and the Lord heareth! But the next part of that verse also says that He delivereth them out of all...not some, but all...of their troubles. He hears our cry and He delivers us from all of our troubles.
Verse eighteen says the Lord is near the broken hearted. I think the darkest time in my life was when my brother committed suicide in 2004. There were and still are, so many unanswered questions. I was filled with worry and doubt. My heart was so broken. Never again would I be able to tell my "Bubby" that I loved him. I knew that things would never be the same and it hurt. I don't know that my heart has ever been that broken. I'll admit that I was very angry. I was angry at Larry for making such a selfish decision. I was angry at people I thought could have done more to stop what happened. I was even angry at God. How could He have allowed such a tragic event to happen to our family? My poor parents? His beautiful little girl? As much as I pushed Him away from me the few weeks following Larry's death, He continued to stay with me. He was still near to me during the darkest time of my life. I was never alone. And eventually I gave myself back over to His love and He was right there waiting for me with open arms. To draw me closer and heal my broken heart. In the darkest hour of your midnight, when you feel you are all alone in your pain, He is near to you. He surrounds you with His presence.
And then verse nineteen says that we face many afflictions. Are you one of those people or do you know someone that just seems to have something bad happening to them all the time? They're health is bad, their finances are low, their cars are always breaking down, etc. It seems that just as they are about to get over one affliction, here comes another! But it's OK. Because that verse also says that the Lord delivereth him out of them all. There's that word "all" again. Don't you just love it? Where the Lord is, there is deliverance. And where there is deliverance, there is victory!
As Christians, we have a promise of deliverance through trials! A promise of His presence! And a promise of victory over affliction!
In verse seventeen, it says that the righteous cry and the LORD heareth them. I have been on my knees many times, crying out to the Lord in times of troubles for myself or for my brothers and sisters in Christ. There have been times that I felt my cries were never being heard and I wondered if God really cared. Of course He cared. I just had to be patient and allow Him to work in my life in His time. That verse says that the righteous cry and the Lord heareth! But the next part of that verse also says that He delivereth them out of all...not some, but all...of their troubles. He hears our cry and He delivers us from all of our troubles.
Verse eighteen says the Lord is near the broken hearted. I think the darkest time in my life was when my brother committed suicide in 2004. There were and still are, so many unanswered questions. I was filled with worry and doubt. My heart was so broken. Never again would I be able to tell my "Bubby" that I loved him. I knew that things would never be the same and it hurt. I don't know that my heart has ever been that broken. I'll admit that I was very angry. I was angry at Larry for making such a selfish decision. I was angry at people I thought could have done more to stop what happened. I was even angry at God. How could He have allowed such a tragic event to happen to our family? My poor parents? His beautiful little girl? As much as I pushed Him away from me the few weeks following Larry's death, He continued to stay with me. He was still near to me during the darkest time of my life. I was never alone. And eventually I gave myself back over to His love and He was right there waiting for me with open arms. To draw me closer and heal my broken heart. In the darkest hour of your midnight, when you feel you are all alone in your pain, He is near to you. He surrounds you with His presence.
And then verse nineteen says that we face many afflictions. Are you one of those people or do you know someone that just seems to have something bad happening to them all the time? They're health is bad, their finances are low, their cars are always breaking down, etc. It seems that just as they are about to get over one affliction, here comes another! But it's OK. Because that verse also says that the Lord delivereth him out of them all. There's that word "all" again. Don't you just love it? Where the Lord is, there is deliverance. And where there is deliverance, there is victory!
