Morning Devotional

September  27, 2005
"Ouch!" (Part 3)     
    by Don Emmitte

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Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can't find a foothold to stand on. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. (Psalms 69:1 NLT).

Do you remember where we ended yesterday? I said the beginning of victory is in calling on God for help (go to www.GraceRestoration.org “Ouch Part 2” if you missed it). The truth is simply that trials are clear throughout the Bible. The most revered servants of God suffered through trials. I love today’s verse. I’ve prayed it many times. David was in the midst of a trial and at that moment, there were no flowery words to his prayer. This isn’t the poetry of the “23rd Psalm”. This is simply a man going through a trial calling on the God he knows and loves.

Have you had those times in trials? You don’t really know what to pray, but you fully understand that you need help, so you cry out to God for help. At those moments, it is comforting to me to see that honesty is really all that matters.

If you have been following this series then we have defined what a trial is. Of course, as we also established, definitions really aren’t necessary for trials. You know one when it comes upon you. Have you taken your trial to God in perfect honesty, admitting your insufficiency to handle the trial, and cried out for help? Have you simply prayed something like David, something like “Help me God! I’m drowning down here!” God hears that kind of prayer.

Several years ago I was preparing for a mission trip to Argentina. I don’t speak Spanish well enough to get along in that language, so I decided to do a little review in preparation for the trip. I went to some sources for some common words and phrases to help me in general situations, such as how to find a hotel, a restaurant, a hospital, or the police. One phrase that caught my eye reminded me how to call for “help”. I remember thinking at the time that I could probably handle that one just fine! If I were really ever in a desperate situation for help, I think I could communicate that need in any language. The cry for help seems to be a universal language.

Little did I know I would be using it on that trip. We were walking through a neighborhood trying to get some of the people living there to attend a simulcast designed to call the people to salvation and recommitment when, from above us on a overhanging porch, a very large and vicious dog began to growl and bark at us. It was a terrifying experience in the dimly lit street with no one accompanying us for protection and not knowing the language! I promise you that I had no trouble calling on others for help in that moment! I didn’t need to consult the Spanish-English dictionary to do that! If you need help today from God, don’t worry about the words as much as the heart. Cry out to God! Help! Save me God!