Go to God first

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TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 107:23-43

TO CHEW ON: "Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble
And He brings them out of their distresses." Psalm 107:28


"I've talked to God more in the last few days than ever before in my life," I heard a woman say on a news interview. She had just lived through the recent West Virginia flood.

It's not unusual for us to call out to God during disaster. The characters in Psalm 107 certainly do. In the middle of a storm at sea where the waves pitching the boat "… mount up to the heavens," then "… go down again to the depths," the sailors "… are at their wits' end. Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble" - Psalm 107:23-28.

The writer of Psalm 107 tells of God coming through for the troubled and harassed:

• He gets them out of trouble:

"He brings them out of their distresses
He calms the storm…" - Psalm 107:28,29.

• He guides:

'He guides them to their safe haven" - Psalm 107:30.

• He supplies (even supernaturally):

"He turns a wilderness into pools of water
And dry land into watersprings" - Psalm 107:35.

• He blesses:

"He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly" - Psalm 107:38.

• In fact, He even turns the natural order around for them:

"He pours contempt on princes
And causes them to wander in the wilderness
Yet He sets the poor on high" - Psalm 107:40,41.

The grand conclusion of all this is that God is a God of love and kindness:

"Whoever is wise will observe these things,
And they will understand the lovingkindness of God" - Psalm 107:43.

Whatever trouble we're in, whether it is from a natural disaster, a health crisis, a financial crunch, a storm in the family, the oppression of government, let's let this psalm inspire us to do the thing we often do last, first: Call On God. When he personally demonstrates His lovingkindess to us, perhaps we'll be inspired to pen our own version of Psalm 107.


PRAYER: Dear Father, the cynical side of me says, "This is too simplistic" and "It doesn't always work out so smoothly." So help me to trust Your lovingkindness when I'm in the middle of a crisis and don't see (or understand) Your goodness. Help me to have the simple faith of the writer of Psalm 107. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.