Psalm 27:7 (Desperation)
“Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!” (Psalm 27:7).
When we have reached the point when we are sick and tired of being sick and tired, crying out to the Lord in desperation is where the rubber meets the road. It signals that we have exhausted our ability to manage trials on our own and come to the point where divine intervention is paramount.
Oftentimes, when are exasperated, we do not care about saying the right thing or posturing ourselves as resolute in our faith. We are just spent on all levels. Therefore, when our mental and emotional cups overflow, what often spills over are raw exasperations which speak to how desperately we need relief amid the trials of life.
What makes Psalm 27:7 so striking is the blunt honesty of David’s confession. In the previous 6-verses of Psalm 27, he boldly proclaimed the Lord’s unwavering faithfulness. Rather than focus attention on what he lacked, he reaffirmed to himself that God was sovereignly in control. That enabled him to expose the fragility of his emotions because he had a firm foundation to stand on.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:24-27).
BOUNDARIES:
The challenge is we typically give full vent to our emotions without establishing healthy boundaries between honest expression and sinful complaining. It can be easy to justify our behavior as simply a mental purge, but how we respond to life’s trials says more about the maturity of our faith than we realize.
When David boldly demanded the Lord’s attention in Psalm 27:7, he was not speaking from a position of power or authority. His recollection of God’s character in the previous 6-verses demonstrated that he understood his place in the grand scheme of things. As such, David spoke from a posture of reverent assurance that God was the true author of grace and mercy.
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Oftentimes, we assume that we need to speak a certain way to gain the Lord’s approval. It is tempting to try and clean up our act before approaching the Lord. However, what we fail to realize is that He is far more concerned about the posture of our hearts than anything else.
We must always be respectful of His authority, but in no way are we to act more “religious” to gain His approval. Wearing a mask before the Lord is foolish because He already knows the meditations of our hearts. Therefore, we are wise to share our thoughts freely with Him as we humbly ask for His divine intervention amidst our trials.
The key is not demanding that He do our bidding but resting in the omniscience of His sovereignty. It can be excruciatingly difficult to sit and wait patiently when we are desperate for healing and reprieve. It can seem like forever when all we desire is immediate assistance but instead, we must sit tight until the Lord is ready to answer.
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5).
TRUST:
Even still, the Lord’s ways are higher than our own. He knows what is in our best interest and will bring all things to fruition in His way and time. What He asks of us in return is to trust Him—not to act as if we do but to rest peacefully knowing that no matter what the future holds, we will be content.
“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Trust is a topic many of us sidestep in church today. None of us want to admit that perhaps our greatest struggle has everything to do with faith and much less to do with trials themselves. It puts a spotlight on our spiritual maturity because we cannot run and hide when the Lord calls us to step forward.
Nevertheless, when we boldly stand before the Lord as David did and shout, “Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!” (Psalm 27:7), we must bind the words of our mouths to faith. For it would be foolish to make such a request yet doubt whether the Lord is even capable to help in our darkest hours, let alone meet our needs.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5–6).
Faith is the linchpin of our existence as Christ-followers. It magnifies who we believe is sovereign overall when the world feels as if it is spiraling out of control. It also reveals the depth and breadth of our faith and whether we ultimately trust the Lord and His Word when push comes to shove.
IDENTITY:
What then does faithful assurance look like when we pray to the Lord? How can we maintain a healthy balance venting our spleen to Him in a way which demonstrates our faith is resolute and unwavering like David’s? It all begins and ends with knowing who we are in Christ.
David felt comfortable enough to speak bluntly and directly to the Lord because He knew God loved him. He had built a relationship with his heavenly Father over time, and the Lord knew His voice. David did not just lean on Him when it felt convenient but communed with God on a daily, if not momentary basis, and it showed by how comfortable he felt talking to his Savior.
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:4–6).
Spiritual identity is all about knowing who we are based on who we belong to. When we make a faith decision to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we are adopted into the family of God. We are no longer strangers and sojourners but heirs to the kingdom of heaven based on our identity in Christ, giving us direct access to the Father.
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
Because we are born-again into the family of God, we are given assurance of salvation for eternity. With that privilege comes the honor of having direct access to the Father, 24/7/365. God is always ready and willing to hear our prayers and meet us in our hour of need, but we must take the initiative and maintain contact with Him on a consistent and frequent basis to build spiritual intimacy together.
BOTTOM-LINE:
Our ability to boldly ask for God’s attention in moments of desperation is contingent upon the amount of time we invest building a relationship with Him. If we want our Father to easily recognize our voice when we call Him, then we must discipline ourselves to ensure our hearts are aligned based on the absolute truth of His word.
Jesus taught His followers, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:21–23).
David felt comfortable enough to be forthright with God in his hour of need, but that was only because the Lord was the center of his life. He sought counsel from God all day, every day, and it showed because the Lord recognized David’s voice due to the amount of quality time they had spent together. David was intentional to filter his entire life through Scripture, and his relationship with God flourished as a result.
Similarly, we have the same access to God as David did, but the real question is whether we recognize God’s voice and vice versa. If yes, then we can rest easy knowing our relationship with Him is strong because we personally know the author of our salvation. If not, then we have much to be worried about as we will ultimately hear from the Lord on judgment day, “Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. I never knew you.”
The choice is ours, but we must ultimately reconcile who we are and to whom we belong.