Reaching Up and Crying Out

1 O Lord, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

2 many are saying to me,

‘There is no help for you in God.’

Selah

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,

my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.

4 I cry aloud to the Lord,

and he answers me from his holy hill.

Selah

~ Psalm 3:1-4

There is a tree I see daily from my window that appears to be reaching up to the heavens with limbs stripped of foliage. It is as if it is crying out to God for help in its time of trial. Yet, if I really study the tree in more detail, it does still have some foliage here and there near the top, and even more nearer to the ground, where its roots are still holding fast to the ground – drawing its nourishment from the earth.

Like this tree, many of us have had times where we feel stripped of so much in our lives that we just cannot handle one more thing. We find ourselves reaching out to God and crying for help. Sometimes we feel that we are not being heard, because more things continue to pile upon us, even as we search for help from our Heavenly Father. He does not abandon us, though. He is always listening and He always answers us, although not always as quickly or in the ways we wish He would. If we really look more closely to our circumstances that we are crying out to Him about, we can begin to see a little bit of grace and support here and there that we may have at first overlooked. As we get closer to our faith in which we are rooted and grounded in, we may even find more sustenance that He is providing us, although we may not have realized it at first, such as in the love, support and prayers of people around us that He has provided as our faith family. He continues to give us what we need to continue living and growing, even in the most difficult circumstances.

What has you feeling like you need to cry out to God? What do you see around you as you look closer at what He has already provided for you? Who has He placed in your life to journey through this earthly life as your family – both blood-related and faith family? He has surrounded you with everything you need live this life of yours as long as you allow yourself to reach up and cry out for the help you need. He will not leave you to handle your trouble alone, because, as any loving parent does, He will take your hand and guide you when you really need it most - shielding you from the harm this world tries to bring down upon you.

Prayer

Lord,

We know You hear our cries for help in our times of trouble. We know that You are always with us and have placed others here to help us through these times. We thank you for answered prayers and for Your love and protection as we persevere through this life we now live as we continue to look to You, our strength and our shield. Amen.

~ Wendy Miller