In Case of Emergency…

In Case of Emergency…

In Case of Emergency…

In Case of Emergency…

A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.

I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me. Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. 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 in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. Psalm 142:1-7

On airplanes there are always emergency exits. Typically the instructions are, “In Case of Emergency, Remove Cover and Pull Handle to Open Door”. None of us ever wants to be in that situation! I personally prefer to take off, have a smooth flight and then land VERY safely at my destination. If there is an emergency though, we all want the comfort and confidence of knowing there is an escape route and a plan in place just in case!

In Psalm 142 we find our hero David writes this passionate Psalm because he is in deep trouble and distress. He had to escape from Saul, who had gone mad with envy and was bent on murder 1 Samuel 18-20. His escape route was to getting to Nob and finding Ahimelech the priest who had the sword of Goliath hidden behind the ephod. David got the sword and fled to Achish king of Gath, putting himself under a different leadership so as to not rebel against Saul. He sees that his victories had been so powerful that the people of Gath are afraid of him. His only escape route then was to act insane and quickly get to the cave of Adullam 1Samuel 22. It is in this cave that David pens this, one of his many moving psalms as he cries out to God. David sees his only hope is in the hands of God…the God who has led him, protected him, given him victory and been his rock now for years.

Life has so many tremendous challenges: the death of a loved one, money issues, raising and disciplining children, the stress of work, the pain of our sin and hurts from other’s sins and on top of all that the path we walk as disciples is literally a spiritual war! Have you found yourself in deep trouble and distress as David did? In these situations we can find ourselves running to unspiritual men/women for advice and then to sin and idols for comfort. There is no answer there but we have this incredible example in David. Have you run to spiritual men like David did and found the only thing you have is the sword of the Lord (the Bible) to protect and guide you? If so, you are in a good place, the place where God wants you to be…humbled and dependent on Him.

Are you desperate for the LORD every day, striving with all your heart and soul to walk with Him while seeking His will? Or are you a “fox-hole Christian” crying out only on your death-bed or during the dramatic storms of life? The inspiring thing about David is watching him depend on God in good times and bad. He literally walked with God and became the foreshadowing Old Testament figure of our Messiah, Jesus. Do you sing and pray to the Lord every day and scour the Scriptures to find comfort and confidence? Are you grateful for the “calmer” times and so joyfully walk with God while everything is working or do you only “go to the Lord” as the bombs of life are dropping? The challenge here is to know that every day is an “emergency” situation and we desperately need our Rock, our Defender, our God! In case of emergency- walk with the Lord! Then, like David, the righteous will gather about you because they see the goodness of God powerfully moving in your life.

He stoops down to make us great,

Matt Sullivan

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