“The Lord has heard my plea, the Lord accepts my prayer.” Job 6:9
Hurricane Enrique is bearing down on the west coast of Mexico and as a result we are seeing the remnants of its moisture arrive in central Mexico. Peubla, normally dry, has been wet for the last several days. The normally radiant blue skies have been gray, continually weeping. And when you are accustomed to crystalline blue skies, nothing else will do. But yesterday afternoon, the clouds parted, and the brilliant blue sky made its return. And you could feel it in your bones. The sun seemed to warm like never before, its touch sweeter, its feel kinder. Oh, for the return of blue skies. Yet in life, there is a parallel. When the skies of life turn dark, when life brings storms that block out our view of the blue skies we know and love, the temporary grayness can at times seems endless. But throughout the storm, one must not focus on the gray clouds above, but the blue skies beyond.
Psalm 6 finds David enduring dark gloomy skies. In the midst of his stormy despair, he is crying out to God and the honesty in which he cries out pierces the ears of the reader to arrive at the heart. His enemies surround him on every side, their constant assault taxing his being and perplexing his soul. And in the travail of the gloom, he is driven to his knees in desperate prayer to the Lord. Not a bad place to be when it seems the skies of life will never clear. David uses strong poetic suggestion that his bed “swims in tears”, that his tears “flood his bed.” As a result, his eyes are red and swollen from his outpouring of grief. Yet in this moment, we see why king David was a man with a heart after God’s own. He understood that the constant presence of God was not altered or affected by the human condition. You see, no matter what David encountered in life, whether it be a Phillistine giant, personal scandal, or his life being threatened by his own familial royal court, he knew that God was always close. And in that closeness, David never ceased to cry out to God. And it is in this closeness that we see David, in the throes of his teary tumult, express a truth that we all need to be desperately reminded of…the Lord always hears the prayers of His children.
Today, if you are living under dark skies, cry out to the Lord, He is listening. If it seems the gray skies will never relent their murk, cry out to the Lord, His ears are open to the cries of those that call Him Lord. If it seems the sun will never again appear, don’t believe what seems to be true, cry out to God from your tear-stained bed and claim His promises, the Lord is faithful to hear the pleas of His own. The darkness will pass, the skies will part, and the sun will return in God’s good time. But during the storm, know that God is listening, and He knows the voice of those that have called upon His Son Jesus Christ as their Lord. And it is in this promise that makes the storms of life bearable. And when the skies part and the sun once again touches your soul, praise God. Not just for the blue sky, but for the storm. For He is worthy of praise in the storm and He is worthy of praise in the calm. Thank you, Father, for hearing the cries of your children no matter what the skies might say.
“For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer…” 1 Peter 3:12a
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