Articles
“The Lord Heard Me…”
David said, “The Lord heard me….” (Psalm 34:4, NKJV). Further, he will say, “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:16-18).
Those are powerful and reassuring words for God’s people. David is in the grip of fear (Psalm 34:4). Saul is pursuing him. He has tried to find refuge among the avowed enemy, the Philistines, but finally he gets it. “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?" (Psalm 56:3-4)
There are times of trouble where we try to figure our own way out and fail, like David. Our only choice is to cry out to God. Here is the comfort; “He hears. His eyes are over the righteous. He delivers them from trouble.” No, He will not enable us to just vanish or the problem to just “poof,” go away. But He will provide a way of escape. That way of escape also includes our choices.
For the person who has a broken and contrite heart, the way of the Lord is one where the conscience has been cleansed, guilt has been lifted, and shame has been removed. But of the wicked: His face is against them. See the contrast. The broken and contrite have peace with God and are at peace with themselves. The wicked have God as their number one enemy. He will cut them off from remembrance. Yet He remembers and hears the righteous. He delivers them from trouble. He sustains a relationship with the righteous, but He condems those who do evil.
One of the great blessings of having that relationship with Him is that He hears our cries. When a child is in distress, the child cries out and the expectation is the parent will hear and come to deliver the child. So it is with us. He hears and He has provided a way of escape from condemnation, pain, hurt and shame.
So, when we find ourselves in distress, remember when we cry out to God, “He hears. His eyes are over us. He will deliver and redeem us.”
Rickie Jenkins
