But I call to God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. Psalm 55:16-17
I always saw these verses in this psalm as reassurance that God does hear our prayers. But, today it convicts me. I realize in the midst of selling my house and downsizing to an apartment with all the stress of being widowed piled on top, I’ve been like a child staring at the candy aisle in the grocery checkout line. “Daddy I want- why can’t I have? Please, I promise to be good. Just let one thing about this move go right. Why can’t my life be a bed of roses just once?”
Yes, God hears my voice, just as He did the psalmist. But today, by bringing this verse to mind and allowing me to see how constant my whining has been, He has not only heard my cries but has saved me from my whining. I now realize the reason I feel my Lord hasn’t responded was because until I quit whining, He won’t- just like a parent in that grocery line. The child knows what the answer will be, but keeps throwing a hissy fit anyway. I am no different. The answer is, “My ways are not your ways. Don’t be troubled. Trust in me and trust in my Father as well.”
Until I choose to shut my mouth I won’t be able to find peace or hear His voice. Getting stirred up does me no good. It only causes anxiety, raises my blood pressure and churns my stomach. Holding it all in my hands andthen whining about having to hold it all in my hands does nothing except keep me upset and thwart His response. If I give it all to Him and trust it in His hands where it belongs instead, then He will act. Like the beggar by the healing pool, my Lord asks me,”Do you want to be healed? Do you want less anxiety in your life and roll more with the punches? Then do as I say so I can work in your life. Turn it all over to me. Sit back, trust, then watch.”
Is that what God is telling you as well?
