“In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.” Psalm 18:6, 16 (NIV)
I will never forget the day I lost my youngest daughter. Even now, years later, I can still feel that knot in my stomach when I think about it. In my defense I was also watching seven other children but you would think that losing MINE would not happen. And yet it did.
My two sisters and I had somehow managed to stuff all our children into a huge van and drive to town to shop. We were quite a sight in a local store as we tried to look over items and keep track of eight children at the same time.
As we walked back to the van, my sisters said “Hey, we are here by the supermarket. Need anything?” I did not and volunteered to watch all the kids so they could get what they needed a lot quicker.
As I helped the eight children load into the van, I kept thinking that something wasn’t right. “Five, six, seven” I counted. Suddenly it hit me! Not only was there a child missing but it was MY child! And just as suddenly I realized that I had left her in the department store.
“Do not move from this car!” I sternly warned the children. “If someone tries to bother you, everybody scream together as loud as you can. I will be right back.” I yelled as I ran to find my little one.
“Please Lord, please” was all I could choke out as I hurried through the shop door and immediately scanned the aisles for my daughter.
Suddenly I saw a blonde head bobbing up and down three aisles away and heard a precious three-year-old voice calling “Mommy! Mommy! Where you is?”
“I hear you, Sweetie. Mommy is here, right here!” I cried with relief as I ran to her and pulled her up into my arms.
In Psalm 18:6 and 16, David writes about calling on the Lord for help when he was distressed. If he had left it there and said nothing more, we would not have the hope that we have today that God not only hears but answers. But David tells us that not only did God hear him, He “drew me out of deep waters.” In other words, God heard His child’s call for help and answered him.
Just as my daughter called my name and I immediately ran to her, in the same way God hears and answers His children. We, too, can get “lost” in situations of everyday life. But no matter what, we need to remember that our Father is waiting to hear our call for help and we will never have to ask Him the question “Where you is?”
Father, oh how I love that you hear me when I call and you promise to take care of me because I belong to you. Thank you for being so faithful. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up . . .
Reflect
Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt like God was somehow far away and not really listening to you when you called on Him?
Did you keep praying or were you just tempted to give up?
Apply
Memorize Psalm 18:6 and 16. Personalize it by placing your name in place of “my” and “me.”
In your prayer time today praise the Lord for every time He heard your cry to Him this last week and thank Him for answering. Journal His answers.
Power
Psalm 18:6, 16 (NIV) “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.”
Isaiah 43:1 (NIV) “…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Isaiah 59:1 (NIV) “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.”
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