The God who hears, the God who helps, the God who strengthens

Where is God? Sometimes as we’re going through trials, we wonder where he is. Does he see? Does he hear?

I’m sure David went through times when he felt that way, particularly when he was fleeing from Saul and Absalom.

But looking back on his life, David wrote this psalm. And as he did, he realized just how much God’s hand was on his life. He wrote,

The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. (2 Samuel 22:5–6)

In other words, there were times when he was in desperate trouble while fleeing from Saul and Absalom.

It could also be he was referring to another battle when a Philistine named Ishbi-Benob came upon an exhausted David and basically said, “I’m going to kill you now.”

Talk about having your life flash before your eyes. But at that moment, Abishai came to David’s rescue and slew the Philistine. (2 Samuel 21:16–17)

It was David’s last battle.

And so David sang,

In my distress I called to the Lord;
I called out to my God.

From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears…

He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.

He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me. (2 Samuel 22:7, 17–20)

Those words remind me of how God saved us from our sin.

We were in desperate straits, facing death because of our sin. But when we cried out to him, he heard us, he reached down and took hold of us, and drew us out of deep waters.

He saved us when we couldn’t save ourselves and put us on solid ground.

Even before we knew we needed him, he came to this earth as a man to die for our sins.

And now, we like David can say to him,

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation.

He is my stronghold,
my refuge and my savior. (2 Samuel 22:2–3)

But not only does God rescue us, he gives us the strength to fight through the battles that come our way. David wrote,

It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights. (2 Samuel 22:33–34)

God doesn’t just save us and then say, “Now you’re on your own.”

Instead he constantly walks with us and helps us as we go through life.

The key is that we keep our eyes on him and humbly follow after him. As David said,

To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
to the pure you show yourself pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.

You save the humble,
but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low. (2 Samuel 22:26–28)

Peter adds,

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7)

Are you struggling right now, wondering if God is really here and cares about you?

Remember the song of David. Sing it in your soul.

The same God who was there for him will be there for you. Just keep humbly following after him.