Don’t ever doubt it. God is looking out for you.
I saw my husband go to the emergency room for his first experience with atrial fibrillation, where the heart beats rapidly and erratically. Often, the heart corrects itself within a few minutes, but Jack’s heart rhythm didn’t resolve, even after several hours of medication in E.R. The cardiologist admitted Jack to the hospital, had him hooked up to a heart monitor and an I.V. drip, and changed his medication several times, attempting to get the heart to revert to a normal rhythm. We were within hours of Jack needing the invasive procedure of electro cardioversion, or electrically shocking the heart. Praise God, 19 hours after the heart went out of rhythm, it resolved on its own around 5:00 in the morning.
Several times during the night, Jack had to get up to use the bathroom. The activity made his heart rate spike and every time, a nurse knocked on the bathroom door. “Are you all right?”
After the third time, Jack remarked, “You’re really watching my numbers, aren’t you?”
Her answer was quick, “Like a hawk.”
God is looking out for you with even more vigilance.
Two days later, I saw this verse:
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry. (Psalm 34:15)
How comforting! God’s attention is focused on you. He’s watching you like a hawk.
There’s more:
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;
He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. – Psalm 34:17-20
Is life pressing down on you with all kinds of troubles? Are you feeling crushed in spirit and broken in heart? God hears you. He will deliver you. He is close at hand, watching whatever is trying to get at you.
There is one catch.
Did you see who the Lord protects? The righteous. God’s attention is focused on the righteous who fear him. Like a vigilant cardiac nurse, He is ready to run to your side whenever you cry out. Those who fear the Lord lack for nothing.
Three Ways To Show We Fear God
What is fear of the Lord? Many define fear of God as reverence for God. Let’s get more explicit. Let’s unpack this according to what Psalm 34 says.
Those who fear God:
- refrain from false and malicious speech
- pursue peace
- cry out to God when they are in trouble instead of relying on their own strength.
Why should we fear God more than the things that can harm us on this earth? Why should we fear anything that is less than God? He is bigger than anything that can harm us. He is the one we should fear for He holds life, death, and the scales of eternity in His hands (Luke 12:5) We should be far more concerned about what will happen to our eternal soul than what will happen to our earthly life.
When your heart is right with God, nothing will separate you from His love. He will focus His attention and watchcare on you. But He wants you to ask. Catch those words, cry out. Crying out to God means more than a folded hand, sedate prayer request. It’s a gasp of desperation. “Lord! I need You.” When you do, you can count on His deliverance.
He’s looking out for you.
What’s giving you trouble this week? Stop right here, right now. Tell God you need Him. Cry out. He wants to hear from you.
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