Yesterday morning, I immersed myself in Psalm 107. Of course, the first thing that caught my attention was the instruction to declare your testimony if you have one (which, we ALL do!).
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.......Psalm 107:2
As I read on though, I noticed a pattern. There were four specific groups of people. The wanderers, the prisoners, the afflicted fool, and the storm-tossed sailors.
And the pattern?
They were in trouble.
They cried unto the Lord.
He delivered them.
They praise Him
The more I sat and soaked it in, I realized that we have ALL fallen into each of these groups of people before. If you look closely and are honest with yourself, you will find what season you may be in (or just walked through) right now.
The wanderers (v4-9) - these are people wandering in a wilderness, hungry and thirsty. They are fainting inside. They are spiritually disoriented! No city, no direction - just survival mode.
They cried unto the Lord. They didn't have a polished prayer, neat and fancy words, it was simple... they called out to Him.
And guess what? The Bible says in v7, that "He led them forth by the right way..."
It wasn't just any old way..... it was THE RIGHT WAY.
This is the God who doesn't just rescue. He directs! He takes the lost and makes them purposeful again. He satisfies the longing soul!
For He satisfieth the longing soul. and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:9
I'll just stop and say that just verse alone could preach! Woo!!
The prisoners (v10-16) - people sitting in darkness and chains...because they have rebelled.
You could actually call this -
or even
BONDAGE WITH CONSEQUENCES
But here we see, once again, they cried unto the Lord in their trouble. And again....He saved them.
He breaks the gates of brass. He cuts the bars of iron.
HE DOES NOT NEGOTIATE WITH THE PRISON!
HE SHATTERS IT!
You see, your rebellion will more than likely land you in chains... but hear this... YOUR CRY STILL REACHES HEAVEN!
If you haven't noticed yet, this is one of those chapters that I feel like I could just stand up and preach about! I'm actually reading from my scribbled notes that I took while I read it yesterday! This one has me stirred up and feeling (as one of my current favorite songs says..) a little UNDIGNIFIED. "Clap my hands, move my feet, get undignified." :)
The afflicted fool (v17-22) - Now, these are people who are sick because of their transgressions. They loathed food. They were near death. Their physical weakness is tired to spiritual foolishness.
He didn't just visit them. He sent His word! His word is not for decoration!
It's MEDICINAL!
It restores the appetite!
It pulls people back from the edge of the grave!
The storm-tossed sailors (v23-32) - think businessmen workers, everyday life. Then God commands a storm.
v26 says that the waves lifted them up to heaven and dropped to the depths. v27 They reel and stagger like drunk men, their wisdom fails....or the way King James put it.... they are at their wits end!
This is OVERWHELM!
This is when competence crashes!
Look! v28 says they cried unto the Lord! And what did the Lord do?
But you must know... the storm didn't calm because the sailors mastered the sea
No, it calmed because HE rules it!
This Psalm is both gentle and fierce at the same time! It tells us that we WILL wander, we WILL rebel, we WILL get sick from foolishness, we WILL face storms beyond our skillset.
But....
IF YOU CRY OUT TO HIM.... HE ANSWERS!
Here's the catch though... YOU MUST CRY OUT TO HIM to be delivered!
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