The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17, NIV)
Sometimes, when illustrating a point, it’s hard to find an experience all golfers have shared. But this I know: We have all cried out on the golf course. At the ball. At the bad hop. At our partner. Maybe, yes maybe, at God—if only to say, “Why, Lord, did you ever permit me to take up this confounded game?”
Maybe your cries are mild. Mine can be the embarrassing type. You know, the kind where you’re barking gibberish at inanimate objects, including but not limited to your sand wedge, your lie in the sand, the bunker itself, and the ball that dared roll into this preposterous spot. Please don’t listen when I do this. I’ll be over it in a minute, I promise.
The fact is embarrassment may be the very thing that restrains us from crying out more than we do. Scrunched faces and squawking voices become no one. They demonstrate a lack of decorum, good manners, self-control, and everything else prized by our friends across the Pond. Those Brits really do need to learn to break emotional ranks now and then.
God wants us dangerously close to him, holding him fast, even it means there is blood, sweat, and tears between us.When we are God’s people, however, if there is one thing we should know, it is that God has an ear for his people. He loved us from the beginning, and then after the beginning, when we threw away every good thing in our sin. He loves us now—not because we’ve gotten better by leaps and bounds, but because he is unchanging, even when we play prodigals and self-righteous prudes.
If God loves us like this, he is there to listen when we cry out. In fact, because he wants authenticity from us, he wants us to cry out. Strangely, God named his people Israel, meaning wrestles or struggles with God. Folks, he expects us to lay hold of him, to bear our grievances and demand our blessings. The worst thing imaginable is that we keep our distance. He wants us dangerously close to him, holding him fast, even it means there is blood, sweat, and tears between us.
You may, like blind Bartimaeus, have something very specific about which to cry out to God today. Do it! Your cry may sound like many of David’s: “Why, Lord, is there such wickedness around me?” Cry it! God wants to hear from you, loudly if it must be so. There’s no embarrassment in such a messy appeal; rather, there is great hope that the God of heaven and earth will hear and rush to help you.
—
Jeff Hopper
May 22, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Relating to God 1: Relationships
Relating to God 2: Those Who Believe
Relating to God 3: Those Who Love God
Relating to God 4: Those Who Honor God
Relating to God 5: Those Who Obey God
Relating to God 6: Those Who Sit With God
Relating to God 8: Those Who Praise God
Relating to God 9: Those Who Serve God
Relating to God 10: Those Who Glorify God