FEBRUARY 7
Psalm 28:2, “Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help.”
Psalm 28:6, “Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.”
The psalmist, David, faced many challenges. Amid those challenges, the Lord was his “rock” (Psalm 28:1), and his “strength and shield,” a Shepherd in whom he could always trust (Psalm 28:7).
He understood the Lord to be One who cares. We all need someone who cares, be it a parent, a spouse, or a friend. Our hospice team does a wonderful job of caring for patients and their families by providing medical, physical, and spiritual help. We’ll often ask, “Do you have any unmet needs?” But human care has its limits, for there are troubles too big and hurts and scars too deep for human hands to reach.
David cried out to God for help. The Hebrew term translated “mercy” is the plural of a term meaning “womb” and speaks to a deep, motherly compassion, thus conveying the idea of God’s tender care and love. Even if no one else cares, there is a God who cares. When our troubles transcend the limits of earthly help, there is a God who knows better, loves more, and cares with more tenderness than even one’s mother (Isaiah 49:15).
David cried out to God for help, and the Lord heard his cry. God hears and God cares. 1 Peter 5:7 exhorts you to cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. The God who cares, hears, and in hearing he responds. “Blessed be the Lord!”
“Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares
His heart is touched with my grief
When the days are weary
The long night dreary
I know my Savior cares.”
“Does Jesus Care;” J. Lincoln Hall / Frank E. Graeff
Application questions: Have you been in David’s shoes, pleading to God for mercy and crying out to Him for help? David believed and understood that God could be counted on to care for him. Do you think that way too? What is one trouble in your life you can even now entrust to Him?
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