We sang
a song at church yesterday that pulled at my heart and I broke out in tears.
The lyrics overwhelmed me, as we sang about His love for us, and how when we
call, He answers and He comes to our rescue. (“Came to My Rescue”- Hillsong) As
we sang, a picture of my broken sinful life came before me. I saw myself crying
out to my God, asking for Him to save me, He took me back to that moment when I
first called and He answered. Stop and think about that for a moment. You
called upon the Lord God and He heard you. He heard you crying out to Him, and
He ran to meet you. He left the highest of heavens to come to your rescue, all
because you called.
“He
shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I
will deliver him and honor him.” Psalm 91:15 NKJV
When we
call upon the Lord, He hears us. This verse is a promise to us from the Lord
God that we must cling to. When we call, He answers. When I ponder on this
promise, the words of David come into my heart, “What is man that you are
mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:4) Who am I that He should hear me? Who am I that He
should answer me when I call? Who are any of us? I was a sinner, stuck in the
stink and filth of sin, but I called upon Him and He heard me, out of the
darkness I called, and He heard my cry for help. It is too much for me to
understand sometimes, but it brings me hope and peace that no matter what, if I
call, He will answer.
The
phrase “shall call upon Me” refers to a cry for help. It can be an audible cry,
a spoken plea for help, or it can be a silent cry of the heart. Romans 8:26
tells us that the Spirit also helps our weaknesses for when we do not know what
to pray for. He hears our hearts, the very depths of our beings and makes
intercession for us to God. When we can’t pray, when we can’t even find the
words to call for help, our Lord God hears the very depths of our beings and
still answers us. Even when all we can do is look up, when no words from our
lips come; the Lord God hears our hearts cry and answers us.
He
promises us that He will be with us in times of trouble; He will deliver us
when we call to Him. In our distresses, in our storms, in our trials, if we
call to Him He will be with us, and He will deliver us. The phrase “deliver him”
is more than just setting us free or making the distress go away. It does mean
to come to the rescue, and sometimes, in some contexts, it means to be equipped
for battle. Deliverance does not automatically mean that He will take away the
battle, sometimes His rescue will be to deliver to us the equipment we need to
keep on fighting.
In 2
Corinthians 12:9 Jesus responds to Paul’s pleas for deliverance with these
words, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness.” Paul cried out to the Lord and the Lord heard Him and answered Him,
and delivered to Paul what was necessary for him to keep fighting. We sometimes
pray and ask the Lord to free us, to rescue us from the troubles we are in, we
cry out to Him and instead of freeing us completely from the battle, He gives
us what we need to keep fighting. This too is rescue, this too is deliverance.
It may not be what we wanted, but in the end, because He is our refuge and fortress
(Psalm 91:2) we will find our way through to the victory.
When my
mom was dying of cancer, the night before the Lord took her home, I prayed, I
can honestly say that my heart was praying for me, because no words were coming
out. I laid there before the Lord crying and asked Him to help her. I could
hear her struggling for breath in the other room; I had done all I could do to
help her, now it was in His hands. All I could muster out of my lips was a cry
to the Lord to “Heal her”. That is all I remember saying, “Lord heal her.” I
cried and cried, laying before my God the trouble and the distress of my heart
for her. I called, He answered. He took my mom home to be with Him that
morning, He came to her rescue, and He answered me.
It was
a few months later that I found my mom’s journal. In her last entry, she too
cried out to the Lord to rescue her. She cried with her heart for Him to
deliver her from the distress and troubles she was facing. She called, He
answered, and He came to her rescue and now she is with Him where He is. How
beautiful is that picture for those of us who are faced with struggles, trials
and troubles. We have a God that hears our hearts cries, even those cries that
we cannot speak, He hears and He answers and He runs to our rescue.
He did
not heal my mom in the earthly sense, but He healed her in the most complete
and perfect way possible, He took her home. We not only have a God who listens
to our cries for help, we have a God that runs to our rescue. When He hears us
cry out to Him He moves heaven and earth to come to our aide. It was not the
deliverance I was hoping for that night I cried out to Him, but He did give me
the grace I needed to keep on fighting.
When we
cry out to our Lord, He hears, He answers and He runs to our rescue. I do not
know what you are facing today, and perhaps you are trying to find the words to
cry out. But take comfort in knowing that even those cries for help that are
not audible, He hears, and He will answer you, and He will deliver you and give
you the equipment you need to face the battle ahead. When we call, He answers.
How sweet and beautiful is that promise to us today. In Jesus Name, amen and
amen.
Link to "Came to My Rescue" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAMbEPZfWCY
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