The Groaners

Posted on by korgrocker

“O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.”
Psalm 5:1-3 NLT

Oh dear! David seemed to be in a bad place when he started to write this Psalm. I wonder what was troubling him. Perhaps he was suffering from a sickness, or a physical condition that was causing him some pain. Or was it a problem that today we would categorise with a mental health diagnosis? Was he depressed or something like that? But whatever it was he was at least praying, communicating with his Heavenly Father. There are of course those who might question how these words from David’s pen could be inspired by the Holy Spirit, as they seem to reflect a very human condition. But they are an example to everyone, because they expose the fact that people hurt, and God understands how we feel. If David was able to pour out all his troubles before God, then so can we.

But David was not in a good place. He was groaning and sighing, not at peace with himself. He needed help and had obviously woken up a bit distressed. It is almost as though he was incarcerated somewhere because each morning when he woke up he prayed, perhaps for deliverance, and then waited “expectantly”.

In it all, there is much here that a modern day pilgrim like us can relate to. How did we wake up this morning? Well rested and full of the joys of spring, leaping out of bed, ready to take on all that the day was about to throw at us? Or did we wake up heavy in heart, groaning, tired after a sleepless night? There will be some who find themselves imprisoned by their circumstances, trapped in a loveless marriage perhaps, or forced to go to a job that they hate. In today’s society there are many reasons for being a groaner at the start of the day.

But David left us with a remedy for the groaners, a timeless solution that will never fail. He gave us three pointers that we would do well to follow when in distress. The first is to acknowledge God for who He is. David had no doubts that God was his “Lord and King” and he prayed to no-one else. The second point is to lay the problem, the one that is causing us to groan, before the Lord. Cry to Him for help. Ask Him to listen to our prayers. Voice out our prayer, audibly if necessary. Thirdly, we must do something that we are not particularly good at. We must wait patiently expecting an answer. God is always ready to speak to us, far more than we are to listen. Acknowledge, petition and wait. Three very simple pointers to write but perhaps a little more difficult to apply – that will take us a lot of practice and perseverance.

Dear Heavenly Father. Thank You for David’s honesty, as he poured out before You all that mattered to him. Please help us to learn from his example. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Believing Jesus

Posted on by korgrocker

“The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.” Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home. While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well. He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!” Then the father realized that that was the very time Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and his entire household believed in Jesus.”
John 4:49-53 NLT

Perhaps the government official, the civil servant, was worried that Jesus wouldn’t heal his son. So he begged Jesus a second time to go with him to his home to heal his “little boy”. We don’t know the lad’s age but the impression was that he was much loved and in a family that obviously was fairly wealthy, because there were servants. But this was another example of Jesus’ compassion. He saw the man’s distress and immediately responded with the instruction to “Go back home”, followed by the reassurance “Your son will live”. 

But we should note the civil servant’s response. In spite of his begging, we are told two things about the man – he believed in Jesus and he was obedient to Jesus’ command. We read, “And the man believed what Jesus said and started home”. No more begging Jesus to come to his home. No more emotional pressure. We don’t know how he heard that Jesus was back in Galilee but he journeyed to meet the Master. The urgency of his son’s illness spurred him on. He was probably thinking about where he could find Jesus. What would his reception be? Would Jesus go with him? What if he said “no”? Doubts would have pressed in on his thoughts. But regardless of all of this he kept going, ignoring anything that would have made him turn back. That’s faith in action.

The man was hurrying home, desperate to see if his son was better. What was he expecting? A small improvement? Total healing? Would he find his son back to normal, playing with the other children? What did he think when he saw some of his servants coming towards him? Were they bringing bad news? Or was it the answer to a father’s desperate encounter with Jesus, the answer he yearned for? And then, the joy when he found out that his son was well, with the fever not present anymore, and it all happened at the very moment Jesus had said, “Your son will live”. 

We pilgrim believers are a people of faith. But do we have faith like that government official? Faith that will persevere through difficulties and troubles? God will always reward the faith of His children. We don’t have to beg, but believe what Jesus said, as we read in Matthew 7:9-11, “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him”. The problem is that we “people of faith” fail to ask God for what we need. We often try every other avenue until desperation or lethargy kick in and spoil the opportunity. Or as a last resort we fall to our knees in prayer and ask God to help us. I keep a prayer diary and often find myself writing in the answers to prayers offered up days before. It’s faith building to know that God not only hears my prayers but answers them as well.

This cameo of the encounter between Jesus and the government official ends with more joy. We read, “And he and his entire household believed in Jesus”. What a tremendous outcome to find that the whole household, presumably servants and all, came to a belief in Jesus. All through a few gracious words from Jesus and the father’s faith.

Dear Father God. It must grieve You so much to see Your children struggling with issues that You have the answer to. Please forgive us. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.