“Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.”
Psalm 4:1 NLT
What sort of relationship do we have with God? Do we bow and scrape before a holy God, afraid to speak out of turn in case we get zapped by a Heavenly lightning bolt? Are we fearful of a God who we perceive as being a cosmic policeman, wielding a truncheon, stern and unforgiving, never approachable as a friend? Is God to us a benign and detached elderly figure with a long white beard, leaning over the banisters of Heaven and observing what is going on in the world and in our lives, but never interfering much, if at all? Is our God someone we plead with when we experience troubles and problems? Or is our approach to God like that of David’s, robust and fearless, sure of his relationship with His Lord?
David knows that his sins are forgiven and he is innocent, so he demands from God, His loving Father, an answer to his prayers for freedom from his “troubles” and for God to have “mercy” upon him. God of course has mercy on us sinful men and women; if He hadn’t then there would have been no human race. Everyone deserves judgement and punishment for their sinful ways. God provides time for men and women to come in repentance to His Son, and be declared innocent before Him. But freedom from “troubles”? Can God answer that prayer? Will a convicted criminal, who prays that prayer be immediately released from prison? Will a child who breaks a school window in a fit of rage be forgiven from the consequent “trouble”? Freedom from troubles, just in response to a prayer, no matter how heart felt? Be assured, we live in a moral universe and punishment for our sins will happen either in this world or the next.
If we live God’s way, then our propensity for experiencing “troubles” will reduce. Psalm 19:7-8, “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living”. So a prayer for freedom from troubles will be answered, not by an immediate release from the consequences of our bad choices and behaviour, but by a formula for living a life in a way that will avoid most troubles in the first place.
The kingdoms of Light and darkness are colliding more frequently these days, and troubles for God’s children are on the increase. But our Heavenly Father is there with us declaring us innocent as we follow His ways.
Dear Father God. Thank You for Your loving kindness and mercy, that follows us, even pursues us, every day of our lives. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 