I call you Lord, and I mean it. Just like the psalmist, I see you as my Rock, my shield and my defence. In you I hide when the demands of life become overwhelming, when I need ears that are much bigger than mine or those of my supporters. They can do their best; but sometimes that still leaves me needing the unshakeable hand of God to settle my situation. That’s why I call on you Lord, to let me know for sure, that indeed, everything will be alright.
Of course, alright doesn’t always mean “all right.” Things may be quite different to what I might judge to be ideal, but then, I do not know it all. Right? What I do know pales in comparison to my ignorance about the remainder! And even as I pray and plead with you not to be silent, sometimes it seems like you’re not listening. But I know it’s just that. It seems like you’re on a break. I’ve learned that this is simply not the case. You’re listening all the while, sometimes letting me find my cool, sometimes enabling me o recognise that I’m not helpless at all. Well, let the truth be told. How can I ever be helpless when you are near me? Even though I may not see you, you never let evil have the last say in my life.
O God, you’ve really made me into an optimist. That I know. So, I do not apologise to people who think that I’m headed for a surprise. When will that be? When I’ve finished living with all your provision for my needs, protection from what would destroy me, and your power that persuades me every step of the way?
Then it would be way too late to try and fool me into living a loser’s life. That’s why I’ll keep on praying “2 Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.” The Lord will deal with the others who choose to believe otherwise, for God has the last say.
But like the psalmist, I affirm, “6 Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him”.
That’s why I can’t help being optimistic. Trust the Lord in whom strength does not run out. A good shepherd who takes care of the weak and needy, making them strong and supplying their every need.