Trying times are crying times. But how do you cry?
“In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul” (Psalm 138:3 NKJV)
Bold Souls Cry Out!
There is a commercial on TV now with a mother who, I believe, is holding a dog or cat, I can’t remember which, on her shoulder. Meanwhile, her little son cries out that he’s fallen. She responds by telling him where he can find a Band-Aid. Sensing her lack of concern, he ups the ante and cries out, “I’m bleeding!” She responds unsympathetically yet again with, “Grab two,” and cuddles more closely with the animal. Parents do not generally respond to their children in that way.
Our father, God, certainly does not respond to us like that. He is just waiting for us to cry out to him with sincere faith. He is never preoccupied with anything he considers more important than his children. He will answer and soothe away the pain, grief, and fear, and will replace those stressors with emotional boldness and strength in our souls.
Crying is expressed in three ways. It can be manifested through wet tears trickling down your face in response to pain, grief, and fear, or in calling out with a loud voice in response to those same stimuli. At the tomb of his friend Lazarus, Jesus cried with wet tears, and a little later, he cried out with a loud voice. Wet tears are cathartic, but when we cry out to God, he will answer us and come to our rescue. That’s because he is our Father; his eyes are on us, and his ears are open to our cry(Ps. 34:15).
But crying can also be expressed thirdly, thoughdry tears, crying inwardly, showing little emotion while depressed and dying on the vine. David could have responded to his troubles like that. But that would only have left him fearful and weak, bereft within his soul. So, he cried out like Peter did later when he began to sink in the angry dark waves of the Sea of Galilee(Matt. 14:30).
I cry out frequently because the enemy is always looking for an opening to enter our souls and zap away our strength. But we have a remedy! Do not be fearful and cry inwardly with dry tears. Do what the righteous, bold souls do. Cry out! Cry out to the LORD!
Focus Quote: “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles”-Psalm 34:17 (NKJV)
The new devotional anthology by Alton E. Sumner, Standing on the Promises:
Defeating Fears and Breaking Barriers
It is available right now, from me, signed and autographed using CashApp: $Altonesumner or Zelle: (301)921-6060.
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Reminders:
Please continue to join us at 5:14 p.m. each day as we pause to pray. Just pause and pray wherever you are. Just connect to God and pray! I will also be praying with you. There is power in agreement! The 5:14
