Rescue Us, Oh Lord
"From all their distress God rescues the just. - Ps. 34:7"
Who are the just that God rescues from their distress?
I am drawn to the psalmist’s words, but if I am honest, it takes a lot to believe them. The psalmist tells us, “I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from my fears.” So, does this ancient psalmist know me?
Around 3:00 am, I often awake and pray, asking God to soothe my fears for those who are suffering. I imagine the mother in Ukraine watching all she hoped for her children blown up by bombs and missiles. I think of the young mother in Sudan who doesn’t have the food her baby needs to survive. Lately, when I awake at night and turn to prayer, I include all those ordinary families devastated by job losses in my own country. Their mortgages, car payments, and college tuition payments nowhere in sight, and their lives upended without reason.
The psalmist continues, “The Lord confronts the evildoers…” but I see no signs of this. Where is God in all the turmoil?
The final words of the psalm are, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.” I know this to be true because, in the end, after tossing and turning, praying and pleading for God’s help in this world, at some point, I surrender. All of this is in God’s hands, and while I do not like God's slowness on some level, I do believe that God rescues the just from their distress.
Based on the psalmist's words, my prayer on this day is to recognize how God rescues the just. Sometimes, it is as simple as being thankful for a warm and comfortable bed.
What is the distress you ask God to rescue you from?
Anne Hansen