When Our Hearts Cry, God Answers

Has it ever gotten so bad and lonely that the only thing you can hear anymore is the moaning from your own heart? Your favorite song becomes background noise and eventually, the soothing sounds that once filled you with rhythm are drowned out by the weight of your situation. You cut it off because the fact that it's not able to help you feel better like it once did makes you feel like things are even worse than you initially thought. Who hasn't been there? 

I do want you to know one thing, though. You are not alone. You never have been, nor will you ever be. That's not a promise that I make to you but a promise that your God has made to you repeatedly. He'll continue to say it to your heart... everyday until you can hear Him again. It is all too easy to wallow in our hearts' cries. It is often a self-defeating behavior. One of the ways by which Merriam-Webster defines "wallow" is this:

to indulge oneself immoderately.

To indulge oneself...

Literally, to give free will to something in a way that would allow it give us some sort of pleasure.  The moaning of your heart is not something to indulge in and greedily possess. It is a sign that God needs to intervene in your situation. It is a cry to God's sovereignty, asking Him to step down from His throne to aid you- His child, love, and friend- in a way that no other being is able to. The next time you begin to hear your heart cry, do not indulge and continue to let it ache by engaging in negative thoughts and self-destructive behavior. Instead, help it by turning to God and asking Him to come to hear your heart and come to your aid. Like a mother drops everything to respond to the cry of her child, regardless of age, so is God naturally responsive to the cries of His people. 

Psalms is a BEAUTIFUL book. One chapter that sticks with me and is quite appropriate for today is Psalm 18. Fun fact, it's that same as 2 Sam 22, which I learned recently 😄. It's a beautiful song to pray with. I did not put the entire thing down below as it is a bit of a read but it's so worth it to spend time with it yourself later on. 

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:

18 I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my [a]strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the [b]horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.

4 The pangs of death surrounded me,
And the floods of [c]ungodliness made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried out to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled;
The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,
Because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.

(NKJV)