Day 172, or June 21st. When in trouble, shout. Our thoughts today are from Psalm 107, verse
13. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
First the big picture surrounding this verse. When we think of Psalms, we tend to think
of its major writer, David. But sprinkled throughout the book of Psalms are some beautiful
songs, anonymously written, but nevertheless directly from God. Psalm 107 is a good example.
This psalm is next to one by David that exhorts us to rise early and praise the Lord. Together
they form a perfect pair that encourages us to turn to God and urges us to act positively
from the beginning of every new day. And now our action step for today.
When the Bible repeats something, it's usually because it's important and needs to be highlighted.
When it's repeated again, then it is supremely important and often a matter of life and death,
as if to add to the impact relatively few things are mentioned three times in the Bible.
But perhaps the best example is found in Revelation, where in chapter 4, verse 8, we read about
the four living creatures who are before the throne of God and constantly crying out to
God, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, the one who was, who is, and who
is to come. Not just holy, but Holy, Holy, Holy. Psalm 107, written by an unknown author,
stresses how God will meet us in our hour of need and satisfy us like nothing else can.
Just as we are reminded that God really is holy, so we are reminded that God really does
satisfy our innermost needs. Psalm 107 has the same refrain three times.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distress. In
plain English, when we're in trouble, we need to turn to God. Don't let pride get in the
way. Don't let the fact that you haven't spoken to him for a long time, or maybe you've
never spoken to him before, deter you. Be assured he won't turn you away.