He Hears the Needy

"But I am afflicted and in pain;
Let your salvation, O God, set me on high!
I will praise the name of God...
When the humble see it they will be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
For the Lord hears the needy..." -Psalm 69: 29-30, 32-33

We each have our own stories of feeling like we're drowning, sinking down into the mire, being attacked by the Enemy and so wearied from crying out for deliverance that our throats have grown hoarse and our eyes cloud with exhaustion (Ps. 69: 1-3).
We are needy, even if we don' realize it or won't admit it.

When the floods of life threaten to rush over you this week, where will you turn? To the rickety, unstable towers of the world or your own coping mechanisms?

David - a man pursued and battered by his enemies if ever there was one - gives us the clear solution to surviving the inevitable storms of life in Psalm 69:
humble your heart and seek God with praise and thanksgiving.

Father, we praise and thank you because You hear us! In our afflictions, help us to see them as divine opportunities to trust You with the frailty of our lives. Let us have the humility of heart to see that we are needy. We "need Thee every hour" - no, every second. Shine Your light on the areas in our hearts that still turn to false comforters or ways of dealing with stress that aren't from You. Revive our hearts, Father, and may all the trials we walk through become beautiful pathways leading us to an ever-deepening nearness to You. In the midst of our storms, show us how to praise and thank You in our hearts, trusting that You DO hear us and that You are at work - and when we do, let the light of our belief join with Your children's praise to shine brightly on the beauty of Jesus' glorious Name.