Just Call

In my distress, I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears…The earth trembled and quaked,…Smoke rose from his nostrils,…He parted the heavens and came down…He reached down from on high and took hold of me;…He rescued me from my powerful enemy. Psalm 18:6-17 NIV

My little sister and I walked home every school day from the bus-stop, a quarter mile up the road from my father’s dairy farm. One day I took off for home, but my sister lagged behind, taking her time. A car, carrying a stranger stopped to engage her in conversation. And she, a lively talkative child, responded. My father, near the barn, saw this interaction, and before I could turn around and see the predicament, he took off running down the road toward the bus-stop. The stranger, seeing him on his way shouting to my sister, drove on.

I have thought about that incident many times when reading Psalm 18. God watches us, listens for our cries, and responds to protect us in times of danger. Sometimes we know that help immediately. Other times, though, it seems he hasn’t heard us, and we wait to see if help will ever arrive. We can be sure, however, that he DOES see, and watches over us in tender care. If he needs to come running, he does, sometimes in the nick of time.

If you call God your Father, be assured that He will shield and protect you. I'm reminded of the lyrics of Carole King, “Just call on my name, and you’ll know wherever I am, I’ll come running.”