Ezekiel 20:1-49
Hebrews 9:11-28
Psalm 107:1-43
Proverbs 27:11
There's the joke about the guy who, having fallen halfway down a cliff and clinging for dear life to a small plant, with no way back up or safely down, cries out for help. A loud voice replies, offering to save him but asking for his trust. When the man agrees, the voice - God - tells him to let go of the plant, at which point the man seeks a second opinion: "Is there anyone else up there?"
Let's think about that in the context of today's psalm for a second. The psalm tells of "the redeemed". There are four groups of them in the reading - the first were lost and hungry; the second imprisoned in darkness because of their actions; the third were fools, in despair because of their choices; and the fourth were simply living their lives, afflicted but what life brought. The first group was fed and housed, the second set free, the third saved from their bad choices, the fourth got through life's storms.
What's interesting is they all did the same thing the guy on the cliff did: "they cried to the Lord in their trouble". The difference is, when God answered, I believe each of the four groups listened, and then obeyed. They didn't ask for a second opinion. They didn't pretend they knew better. They didn't demand God help them the way THEY wanted.
We are all going to find ourselves on that cliff in one way, shape or form, often, throughout our lives. Helpless, we are going to need help, be it from God or from any of the resources He sends into our lives - pastors and doctors, for example. Like that man on the cliff, like Naaman in the Old Testament, we will have a choice: to listen, to trust and obey…or not. Father, when faced with that situation, inspire us to You, and to obey.
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