“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.”
Psalm 107:6
There is a great spiritual desert that lies beyond. Amidst it there is no food for the hungry soul, there is no water to quench the thirst of the heart. There is nothing more than the beating sun and the blowing wind the kicks the sand into the eyes of those who wander amidst it, blinding them amidst the Diaspora that so wounds their being.
This is the unrighteousness of our world, the wickedness of transgressions and the brutality of captivity and bondage. It keeps destroys peace as it wages its war against our comfort, seeming endless before us as we look to the horizon and find that as far as the eye can see there is nothing... no home, no solace, no rest, no path, just the great wasteland before us...
Yet God, in His mercy, that mercy that is endless and infinity, more so than even the greatest of deserts, reaching further than our spirits could imagine, never leaves us to wander forever, nor does He let us perish in the wilderness with hope so far from us. Unchanging in His nature He is the same God of deliverance as He always has been. As He led the children of Israel through the desert, feeding them and quenching their thirst, providing a pillar of light to guide them to the Promised Land, raising His hand to protect them from their enemies, so too does He now contend with the cause of His people amidst all of their distress and despair.
Whatever the captivity, whatever the bondage, however near oppression may come to us, or how strong the forces of tyranny may seem against us the power of our Lord, the God of deliverance and mercy, is greater as His abiding, transcending grace makes itself known in the lives of His people. When rest our burdens on Him, calling out His name that His hand may be raised for us and we may be girded with His strength, we draw our confidence in the promises He has made never to fail us or forsake us as He gives us the courage we need and the perseverance that seemed so fleeting amidst our lives as He shows us the power of His ever vigilant, ever faithful love for us.
Let us then rest on this assurance dear Brothers and Sisters as we uplift the prisoners and the hostages, the captives and the slaves in our prayers, crying out onto the name of the Lord, our God, for their deliverance as we rest in the blessings of His Word. Then shall we know that in His time, in His way, He shall move forever for the cause of His people as He whispers His truth through this world like a resounding call to freedom that tells unto us that He is never far off nor is He far distant while His people find themselves in their deepest of struggles and most abiding of challenges.
What a blessing, what a comfort that is...
Let us pray:
We your redeemed children draw near to your promises O Lord as we lift our voices up to you.
We your redeemed children O Lord, we cry out upon your name on bended knees in humble supplication, looking to your promises and to your assurances to come to bless our lives. Be not far from us, bend your ear to our cries, bend your eyes to look upon the suffering that is in this world and let not the struggle and the despair be upon the spirits and the souls of your children. Let not darkness come to them, let not despair be before them. Show your true and beloved nature, show your wondrous comfort, unto all of those who suffer amidst captivity and bondage, let them not struggle amidst the wilderness, wandering amidst such a brutal diaspora, with no hope on the horizon, O Lord. Feed them, quench the thirst of their soul, O Lord, let their spirit be lifted to you as their heart is girt and given endurance even among these darkest of days that now come upon them. Let them not be so blinded by the sands and the wind that blow against them.
Be upon the life of your dear child Alan McMenemy, show your grace upon him, show your grace upon his wife as she pleads for answers, as se pleads for some sort of sign, some sort of comfort. We raise up her call to you O Lord, knowing that you can give her what she seeks in her life. Return her husband to her, and if that is not your plan then give her the peace that she so desires. We plead this of you O Lord, looking to your promises and assurances that they may be the blessing of her life even as it seems like blessings are so far off from her.
O Lord, while the captives and the slaves are hungry, feed them; while they are thirsty, give unto them the water of your word and lead them like that pillar of light from this darkness to the land of your promised rest, as you like a shepherd lead them to the green pastures where your hope forever dwells. Then shall we raise your voice, then shall we raise your soul knowing that you are the God of Deliverance whom we will always and forever place our trust in as you prove yourself to be faithful and vigilant in the lives of your children.
In the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who came to ransom us all, and now lives and reigns with you in the kingdom, one God, world without end. Amen.
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