Pleading for His People

Psalm 3:4 "I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill."

Psalm 4:1 "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!"

Psalm 6:6-7 "I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes."

Psalm 77:1-3 " I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate my spirit faints."

David was no stranger to pain, anguish, and suffering- and much of it was a result of choices he made and living with the consequences. Does that make his anguish any less real? No, although sometimes I think we tend to brush it aside and say, "He deserved it". Did he, not my place to judge- because in reality, don't I tend to make the same mistakes? Maybe not on the "scale" of his- but sin is sin- period.

The thing that I see over and over from David is who he turned to every single time- His God- the very same God who allowed all of the hurt. Why? Because David knew that God was Sovereign. David knew that he had been called by God to a higher purpose. He knew that God was the KING of kings.

All through the Psalms we see evidence of David turning to God with questions- Why? How long? Who? When? What next? And yet, through the pain, shone glorious truths- truths that he (David) knew about God. Truths that we know about God. Further on in Psalm 77 he said "Then I said, "I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High. I WILL REMEMBER the deeds of the Lord; yes, I WILL REMEMBER your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. YOUR way; O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?" (10-13). David asked questions but he didn't stay in those questions- he didn't dwell on them (hmmm... maybe, just maybe we could learn an important lesson there). He went beyond the questions- he REMEMBERED what had been done- he REMEMBERED God's Sovereignty.

I have some sweet friends who are experiencing some of the pain and anguish that David must have felt. Back in December 2009 they had twins who were born at 25 weeks- both less than a lb. Ethan was 13 oz. and 19 months later they were showing signs of thriving. Rather than taking the chance of giving wrong details I encourage you to read Jared and Sara's blog and see the glory through the pain. You can find it here at Raby's Ramblings. Be sure to note how you can pray. I am asking that the few people who might read this blog to plead, to intercede on their behalf. Romans 8:26 says, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."

I firmly believe that as believers we are called to intercede for this family as well. I know this is long but before I go I am putting out one last thing- Ethan needs bone marrow asap! It's a life giver that someone else has that can save his (hmm... another lesson there). Go get tested! I am heading out this week to be tested. You can go here for more info (or I believe check your blood bank as well).

Oh, one last thing- the following is a quote by Sara's brother Nathan who lives in TX and is away from the family during this time (the rest of the family is here)- it pretty much sums it up perfectly.

"God has received much glory from the lives of the Jared Raby family already. Our finite minds can't understand how He can want more from them. But His ways are higher than our ways and beyond understanding." - Nate Halley

**all verses are ESV.