Who cares? Who is there?

We wonder sometimes.

A Prayer Rap that Wraps Us in God’s Protection
“I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the poor and render justice to the needy. Surely, the righteous will give thanks to your Name, and the upright shall continue in your sight.”

If you live in this world, you have a calling – to find some way to function with the other people who live in this world. The challenge is that some of them – God bless them – are never happy unless they are stirring something up. Then, they are not really happy, just less unhappy.

Their words are sharp. Their demeanor is critical. Sometimes, their ways are violent physically, emotionally, or in some other subtle ways.

Sometimes, their subtle or organized schemes threaten our welfare. Sometimes they plot against us.. Even paranoids sometimes have real enemies — or so the saying goes.

God reminds our hearts that:

”I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall dwell in your presence.”

Whether you must rub shoulders with the aggressive or the passive aggressive souls of the earth, you are not the first and you are not the last. The psalmist’s enemies were personal and institutional forces that figuratively and literally attacked and threatened.

So, if you went to congregational worship on a Sabbath in days of old, you might have prayed this hymn of heart-cry, expressing a common condition and longing.

Psalm 140

Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
    protect me from those who are violent,
who plan evil things in their minds
    and stir up wars continually.
They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
    and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah

Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    protect me from the violent
    who have planned my downfall.
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread a net,
    along the road they have set snares for me. Selah

I say to the Lord, “You are my God;
    give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”
O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their evil plot. Selah

Those who surround me lift up their heads;
    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
Let burning coals fall on them!
    Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy
    and executes justice for the poor.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
    the upright shall live in your presence.

Caring for a Soul
“… no one cared for my soul.”

God cares for your soul.

How can a statement be true and untrue at the same time?

Many a man or woman has echoed the psalmist’s cry in lonely and despairing hours. Many have passed though the dark tunnel of desolation “like sheep without a shepherd.” In those times it is true that no one really knows the darkness within, and no human being cares at the level that caring is needed. The statement is true in that it expresses the essential emotions of the moment.

It is not true in the deeper, larger sense, for there is always One and often, others, who are ready to come to your aid – yes, you, for the psalmist’s story is your story and my story. It is also our challenge to be present, sensitive, and ready to respond to the heart cry of others.

Who might you see as you look around, wandering in a sea of ambiguity and hopelessness? Who is it within your reach that needs to know that he or she is not alone? Who s it that can be reminded of God’s love by your loving touch? Who is it that can learn of God’s care through your care?

Start with yourself, wounded and battered by life. Be reminded that God cares for your soul, your life, and your deepest self. Receive His love at the point of your most profound pain. Then allow Him to fashion you into an instrument of healing and grace.

Can God really use a wounded healer? Can he take a broken soul and accomplish His purposes through that man or woman. I think of David and I say, “Oh yes.” I also think of great men such as Abraham Lincoln, a man often haunted by his own inadequacies, fears, and pain – yet a man who found himself, more and more, turning to God for help – just to cope with the burdens of responsibility, leadership, and the healing of a nation.

God cares for your soul, and God has called you to trust Him and become an agent for His caring in the lives of other people.

Psalm 142

With my voice I cry to the Lord;
    with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.
I pour out my complaint before him;
    I tell my trouble before him.
When my spirit is faint,
    you know my way.

In the path where I walk,
    they have hidden a trap for me.
Look on my right hand and see:
    there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
    no one cares for me.

I cry to you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my refuge,
    my portion in the land of the living.”
Listen to my cry,
    for I am brought very low.

Save me from my persecutors,
    for they are too strong for me.
Bring me out of prison,
    so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
    for you will deal bountifully with me.