Advent For Those Grieving | No. 15
ADVENT DAY FIFTEEN
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. 15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.Psalm 107:13-16
HE ALONE BRINGS US OUT OF DARKNESS
Crying out to God in the middle of our grief can feel incredibly hard. It may even feel impossible. And those in Psalm 107 are no different than you and me. In fact in the verses before verse 13 the people, in their distress, didn't call out to God as their first source of help. "Some wandered in the desert" trying to find their own way and "Some sat in the darkness" prisoners of their own affliction. Praying to God amidst sorrow or misery should be our first solution but it often isn't; maybe because we feel hurt by Him, not heard by Him or maybe because we feel that He isn't able to fix what has been broken. But the Truth we see here is this: that though we may feel hurt by God, He is our healer, and though we may feel as though He doesn't hear us, He does hear our cries, and though we feel as though He is not able to bring restoration, He alone is able to work miracles. "He shatters the doors of bronze" - that which feels impossible to you and me, is never impossible to Him.
One beautiful and encouraging truth found these verses is that God is not slow to respond when we cry out to Him. Even when we are slow to go to Him with our pain, He is not slow to answer. In fact He brings about healing and relief and solutions with haste and with power and with efficiency. His arm is never shortened, His power never limited by our lack of trust in Him. And He doesn't hold it against us when we choose to try our own way before running to Him. He isn't angry with the people of Psalm 107. He doesn't punish them for not crying out to Him first. He simply answers and comes to their rescue with love and tenderness and haste. And that is why we can: "give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107:1
THE PROMISE
He brings us out of the darkness. Out of our misery, our sorrow. He shatters strongholds and brings healing that only He can bring.
PRAYER
Father, give me the strength and courage to cry out to you in my pain. Remind my heart that you alone can bring true healing and restoration. Thank you God that you are quick to bring me out of darkness when I call out to you.
