Psalm 107 Devotional

One Cry From Every Trouble

“Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.”Psalm 107:43 (BSB)

Four scenes of trouble fill this psalm, and they share a pattern. Some wander in the desert, hungry and lost (107:4-5). Some sit in darkness and chains because they rebelled against God's words (107:10-11). Some are fools whose own sins have brought them near death (107:17-18). Some are sailors whose skill is useless in a storm the LORD himself raised (107:25-27). Each time the same line follows: they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he rescued them (107:6, 13, 19, 28).

Notice who receives help. Not only the innocent, but also prisoners and fools who brought their trouble on themselves. God sends his word and heals (107:20), breaks bars of iron (107:16), and hushes the waves into a whisper (107:29). Each rescue ends with a call to thank him for his loving devotion (107:8, 15, 21, 31), and the psalm closes by urging the wise to consider that love (107:43). Whether your trouble came from circumstances or from your own choices, the way out begins with the same cry.

To think about: Is there a trouble you have hesitated to bring to God because you caused it yourself, and what would it mean to cry out to him anyway?