The Joy of Being Heard

Struggles are a part of daily life.  Sometimes struggles are minor struggles: struggling to get up in the morning, struggling to get the exercise we know we need, struggling to keep up in the garden.  Other times, the struggles are major: struggling over how to respond to a child that is breaking your heart, struggling to keep a marriage together, struggling to fight a physical ailment, struggling to love someone who has despitefully used us, struggling under the pressure of many enemies.

While I am thankful that each of my struggles would be classified by anyone as minor struggles, I also know that God does not differentiate among struggles.  The same response is called for in each struggle in our lives.

"Casting all your care upon him; 

for he careth for you."

- I Peter 5:7

We need to give them to the Lord, cast our care upon Him, call out to him in our distress.  It is exactly what David describes that he did in Psalm 4.  He called unto God and God set him free from the trouble he was experiencing.  But David gives us a warning in the psalm as well.  He warns us that God hears the godly, David had confidence that God would hear him:

"But know that the Lord hath set apart him 

that is godly for himself: 

the Lord will hear when I call unto him."

- Psalm 4:3

Those who love pride and lies cause God to wonder how long they will continue in it.  How long they will sabotage their own requests by their hearts filled with pride and deceitfulness.  Sometimes God answers us with a 'Wait', or a 'Not yet' or even a 'No', but David encourages us to do what we can do to have a right relationship with God.

"Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your 

own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah. 

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, 

and put your trust in the Lord."

- Psalm 4:4-5

We need to reverently fear God, which will act in our lives like spotting a police car on the highway.  Many times I have been riding along in obedience to the posted speed limits and have people pull in in front of me and slow down because they saw a police cruiser.  Their 'fear' of the officer (or at least of the ticket) caused them to obey the law (if only for a minute or two).  Our standing in awe of God will do the same in our lives. It will cause us to be honest with ourselves about our sin and deal with it appropriately.  It will cause us to see we cannot please God on our own, we cannot conquer our struggle on our own.  It will cause us to trust in Him.

How do things end up for David?  Well, despite his struggles, despite his distress, he had peace from knowing God heard him.  The neat thing in the Bible is that when God hears, it isn't just that the words registered in his mind.  When the Bible tells us that God hears, it carries with it the thought that God understands and will respond to those things that He has heard.  So David?  I like the way he responds to the distress in his life.

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: 

for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

- Psalm 4:8

How can he do it?  Because he knows he has been heard.