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Sometimes other people’s lives look so perfect as if they never face challenges and everything is always going right. But that is simply not true. We all face hardships in life. If you are currently in a battle, you are not alone.
So the question is not if you will be in a battle the question is “when you are in a battle, what will you do?”
2 Chronicles 20 reminds us that the first thing to do is seek the Lord. The second thing to do is to acknowledge God and pray and the next thing to do is cry out to God.
Verse 9 says, “If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.”
Do you know that you serve a God that listens?
In Psalm 116:1-4, we hear the words of the Psalmist as he cries out to God in the midst of his own personal battle. “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!”
You can hear the absolute distress in the Psalmist’s voice. He is in utter despair. There is a lot of despair in the world these days. We can find ourselves in our own times of utter darkness and hopelessness. When disaster comes and it feels like life is caving in. In those moments when you are tired and weary and you feel like you are at your wits end. When you are not sure where to turn and you feel as though there is no way through your circumstances or no way out from under the weight of life, remember to cry out to God.
Not too long ago I was experiencing a really big battle in my life. I felt confused, anxious, worried, and weary. I was desperately seeking to hear the Lord’s voice. Psalm 25:4-5 became a Psalm that I recited on a daily basis, “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
Sometimes in the battle it will feel like a fight just to cry out to God. You can be tempted to turn to other things to distract you or to numb the pain. But remember to cry out to him. As a follower of Jesus, you have the privilege of a personal relationship with God and 24/7 access to him.