“In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me.” (Psalm 120:1)

When the battle lines are drawn and the storm clouds of life threaten to shatter the peace and serenity of your world, what plan of action do you follow? Do you forge ahead in an effort to resolve the problems facing you in your own limited human strength and wisdom, or do you first seek the divine counsel and all-powerful intervention of the sovereign God and Creator of the universe? Scripture tells us that the wise response to life’s trials is to trust in the LORD and prayerfully invoke His power to see you through the conflict or crisis at hand.

The Bible is full of examples of frail, but trusting individuals who depended upon God to help fight their battles and deliver them from their enemies. For example, when Asa, the godly king of the ancient Jewish kingdom of Judah, was attacked by an Ethiopian army of a million men, we’re told in 2 Chronicles 14:11 that “Asa cried out to the Lord his God…help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on you, and in Your name we go against this multitude.” Heavily outnumbered by the enemy, Asa and Judah prevailed when the Lord struck the Ethiopians and they fled in defeat.

What mighty foe is threatening to disrupt or devastate your life? Your battle might come in the form of a broken relationship, a devastating health issue, a financial crisis, a drug addiction, a lost job, or another of the imposing hardships that life in a fallen world brings. God wants us to humble ourselves and rely upon His strength and sufficiency, especially when our lives are coming apart at the seams. Like Asa, we must cry out to the LORD our God in faith, confidently trusting that He will deliver us according to His perfect will and timing.

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:17-19)