“Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.” Psalm 5:2
Life is hard. It’s filled with turmoil, trial, and strife. When we cry, whether inwardly or outwardly, we’re responding to the trials of our lives.
God could have created us to respond only internally to the trials of our lives—keeping everything inside and maintaining a constantly stoic, emotionless façade on the exterior. Yet he chose to create us in such a way that our emotions can, at times, well up to the point where it is as though they spill over, like a cup filled to the brim. When we cry, it can be an expression of our deepest feelings. It’s the foundation of wanting, the ultimate expression of need, helplessness, fear, sadness, or anxiety.
Why did God choose to make us that way?
He created us with the ability to cry because he is a Father who loves to hear his children cry out to him—not because he enjoys our suffering, but because he desired to give us the ability to express our need for him. He desires us to feel and to cry out for our Father, because he loves us and wants good for us.
My King, My God
We spend most of our lives trying to control things. We know that the world is a broken, sin-drenched place where things go wrong, and we desperately want to know that we’re prepared for whatever calamity might come our way. We want security, protection, refuge from the storm.
In our effort to ensure our own security, it can be easy to forget that God is ultimately in control. Jesus reminded us of this before he ascended into heaven, promising: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18).
We often forget the second half of that promise: “all authority in heaven and on earth” (emphasis mine). We think to ourselves: Sure, of course Jesus is in control . . . in heaven. I’m down here on earth, and this place is insane. But Jesus is in total control—total authority—on earth and in our lives as well. Nothing surprises him, and nothing is outside of his influence or his ultimate will.
Conscious Communion
There is great comfort and solace for us when we rest in this promise: God is a good father who hears and responds to our cries, and he is in total control. When we remind ourselves of that fact, we can find rest. It doesn’t mean our trial ends immediately, but it means that we go through it with the peace and security that Jesus provides. A.W. Tozer wrote about the importance of having “conscious communion” with God throughout our day, constantly lifting up to him the worries of our hearts and surrendering control so that we can trust in his good promises.
What about you? What does it look like for you to cry out to God today? Maybe you’re in the midst of the storm and feel completely alone. Maybe you feel like God isn’t listening, and you’re tempted to give in to despair. God promises you this: he is listening. So cry out to him with everything you are, because he’s a good Father and he loves his children.
