Help!

"O Lord, I am willing to call to you. Please hurry! Listen when I cry to you for help! Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering."  Psalm 141:1-2
 
I didn't wake up that morning saying to myself, "I think I'll wander off the hiking path alone and end up stuck and stranded on a rock ledge with nothing but boulders below", but that's exactly what I did. There were no good options available to me. Regardless of whether or not I could explain how I got there, the fact of the matter was I was there. So, I did what every other self-respecting young man would do, I yelled for help! Help did come. Not in the form of another person, but in the form of a strategically located sapling about an inch in diameter. It was just close enough and just strong enough to enable my escape.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who has ever yelled for help. King David did, all the time. In our verses for the day, he was in trouble. Lots of enemies I guess. My sense is his list of "now what" options must not have felt very favorable either. So, he cried for help. His cry was directed to the One who can always help ... God. He also recognized something that I hadn't thought about before. His cry for help was worship, an offering to God. A cry for help reveals faith, confesses dependence, and recognizes who's really in charge.

Our need to cry out for help is ever-present. Jesus made it possible to be heard. However, our perceived sense of self-sufficiency causes us to pause. The truth is ... we need God. The wonder is ... he's made himself available . The only question left is ... Are we, like David, willing to call out to him?

Grace and Peace,
 
Tom Wiles
tom@fallcreekchristian.org

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