“God Hears Our Cries”

(Based on Psalm 40:1-5, 11-17)

When you have waited a long time for an answer to a prayer and have not seen it, faith can deteriorate into doubt, and questioning God can become a problem. I have gone through this over a period of many years, finding myself at times questioning God’s goodness and grace. I have experienced His reproof and correction for this, even as I continue to endure an evil situation. God has been merciful toward me, giving me strength to stand up against the evil, while teaching me how to be more patient, and not give in to rage or bitterness that could lead me to an act of violence or making threats. This has been especially important for me to learn because part of the evil confronting me involves a deliberate attempt to induce me into making terroristic threats against others in our apartment building, to have me arrested and sent off for psychiatric deprogramming of my “bigoted religious beliefs,” and to re-orient me into a homosexual. God’s Spirit has kept me under control, so I would not succumb to this.

King David found himself under attack by enemies trying to destroy everything he was, and he wrote in Psalm 40 of how he waited patiently for God, and God brought deliverance from these enemies. He describes how God lifted him up “out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay.” David writes that God planted his feet on a firm foundation, and filled him with praise for God. I have found the same thing repeatedly, as God has enabled me to endure constant harassment and tormenting without making any threats against anyone. What I have found difficult to learn is to be content in the circumstances, and giving praise and thanks to God for being counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. I am gradually learning how to do this more, and to be thankful for God’s protection. My prayer in the midst of this is that people will see that God provides the means for enduring the worst things others can throw at us, and will be drawn toward a relationship with Jesus Christ.

In verses 11-17 of Psalm 40, David turns to a prayer for God’s rescue and deliverance from enemies still trying to destroy him. He writes of his own sin overwhelming him, and of his need for God to lift him up, meeting him at his point of deepest need. I am in a similar situation where I have this ongoing effort against me to tear me away from my wife and push me out into the gay community. I cry out to God about it, and I know He is at work in the situation. He won’t allow this to happen and I can fully trust Him to keep my wife Julie and me together, as well as keep me in a right relationship with Him. As for what He does about this evil is entirely up to Him. What I’ve learned from this is that when we cry out to God for His deliverance from a trying situation brought on us by enemies, we can count on God to act in accordance with His infinite wisdom, knowledge, and love to do what’s best for the best possible outcome.

David prays on in verses 13-17 for God to act swiftly to deliver and help him from these enemies. He prays humiliation and shame on those who are seeking to destroy his life, and be thwarted in their efforts to the point of extreme hurt that they end up “appalled in their shame.” With an interlude of praise to God in verse 16, David concludes the psalm in verse 17 by repeating his call to “make haste” and bring deliverance from his enemies’ evil schemes, vindicating him and doing it quickly.

From reading this psalm, I felt encouraged to do the same thing, praying that God would act swiftly to bring about the justice and vindication I seek for the wrongs that continue to be done to me. I am resolved never to give into them, recanting my faith and my belief in the Holy Scriptures, nor will I leave my wife to go live with homosexuals. I am not in the least attracted to men sexually, and even if I were, I still wouldn’t go live their lifestyle. While I have my own sins that I do have to seek God’s forgiveness for, I know I can trust God to act on my behalf to thwart these peoples’ evil purposes. I have learned that when enemies plot and scheme to destroy everything we are or have, we can trust God as we cry out to Him for deliverance, and He will bring their scheme back on them, leaving them ashamed and humiliated for their evil.

(Scripture quotations taken from New American Standard Bible, The Lockman Foundation, 1995 edition).