He Answers When We Call

 Do you have that person or persons whom you call in your hour of need?  That group chat...that top person in your list of favorites on your contacts in your phone...do you have that someone that you know will be there for you when you call?  We all need them.  It's part of being human.  God designed us to be in fellowship with one another.  And as such, He reminds us that He is the One who should be on that privileged spot among our contacts.  

Psalm 30 is a poem to the joy of knowing the Lord is the One we can call in those moments of darkness, need, fear, despair, worry...and of knowing that He is always there...always answering our call...always responding to our messages.

I will exalt you, Lord,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
Lord my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.


Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.


When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
Lord, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.


To you, Lord, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
“What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
Lord, be my help.”


You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Joy and exaltation are the appropriate responses when we realize the Lord always answers our calls.  He heals us.  He pulls us out of the pit.  He turns our wailing into dancing.  He turns our mourning into joy.  And we praise Him forever!

I know that this doesn't mean that God is a genie, just waiting there to fulfill our every desire.  Absolutely not, of course.  I know that sometimes, we pray for things and circumstances to change, and they don't.  I know that we often will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and we will experience the kind of loss that shakes us to our very core.  But, I believe this Psalm is reminding us of the truth that through everything, The Lord is with us...that He does answer our calls...and that even though He might chose not to change the situation...if we hang on to Him, He will change us.

Through the darkness, in our pits, while we mourn, in our fear and worry, He will speak to us and teach us how to see everything through the perspective of eternity.  He reminds us that we are here for a little while, and that we are but a mist, here today and gone tomorrow...but, that for that little while, He is pouring out His love into that fragile vapor that is our life.

May the Lord speak to us when we call in a voice that we can hear and understand.  May we always hear His Voice of Peace and experience the comfort of His protective wings.  In Jesus Name, we pray.  Amen!