Word of Encouragement (12/05/2023)
I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. 5 "For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me; 6 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 7 "In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears. (2 Sam. 22:4-7)
David was in distress. God was in His temple. They couldn’t be farther apart. Not only was David on earth; he was also in distress—overwhelmed by the waves of death, assailed by the torrents of destruction, entangled by the cords of Sheol, and confronted by the snares of death. God was in heaven, in His holy temple. Despite the distance, David called upon the LORD, his God. There was no shortage of people around him. Many were his trusted friends and loyal followers, who had been with him through thick and thin. Even when he called upon the LORD, maybe they were with him with no intention of leaving his side. But he did not call on them, whom he could just reach out his hand and touch; He called upon the LORD in his holy temple in heaven.
It is good to have people around you who love you and are willing to do anything for you. One time, when David was fighting the Philistines, he said, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate” (2 Sam. 23:15)! Three of his men, known as “the three mighty men” (Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi, Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite, 2 Sam. 23:8, 9, 11) heard David’s words. So, they “broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David” (2 Sam. 23:16). David could not drink the water, knowing what risk they had to take to get it. And they were not the only loyal friends and mighty generals he had.
Even so, David called upon the LORD. Even though he was surrounded by mighty men, they were still men. He knew that his life was ultimately in God’s hands, not in the hands of his men or his enemies. People disappoint us. Sometimes they disappoint us by betraying our trust. Sometimes they disappoint us because they don’t meet our expectations. Sometimes they disappoint us because they are not able to do what we need. Who is worthier of our trust than the almighty, all-wise, all-knowing, all-good God?
It is not that we should discount our loved ones and loyal friends and not appreciate them. God uses them as His hands and feet to give us the help and guidance we need. But it is one thing to appreciate them as God’s instruments of blessing and another to look to them as if they were our solution and our lives depended on them.
God may seem far away at times. Indeed, the distance between a holy God and sinful people is infinite. Were it not for Christ, we would not be able to call upon Him as “my God.” (David was able to call upon Him and have his prayers heard because he believed in the coming Messiah.) When we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, the distance between God and us is shorter than the distance between us and our most beloved. How amazing that is! So then, let us not neglect this blessing. Let us call upon the Lord as our God in times of trouble and distress and know that our prayers reach His ears in no time!