Cry For Help

Psalm 54 is another of David’s Psalms of Lament, which are simply cries for help.

They teach us how to pray when we’re feeling exhausted, overwhelmed with the demands of our lives. Verses 1-3:

Save me, O God, by your name; vindicate me by your might. Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. Arrogant foes are attacking me; ruthless people are trying to kill me—people without regard for God.

- Psalm 54:1-3

I will never forget the year we moved to Ashland, Ohio, for seminary. We were leaving our home, families, and secure jobs all for the anticipation of what lay ahead. We loaded a U-Haul, said goodbye and drove off with a four and two year old, ready for our new adventure!

I must admit that in the midst of all of the excitement, there was apprehension too. We didn’t know anyone, had no jobs, and just spent a lot of money for tuition. The house we rented off campus looked more like a converted barn - nothing like the home we left behind!

Ken got a job bagging groceries between classes (he’s really good at it), and I decided to have an in-home day care. Well, that lasted about a month for both of us! Ken soon found a part time job at a pharmacy and as a middle school director at a church. I found a job at a cancer research lab, and we enrolled the kids in preschool. A hurdle overcome!

Except it didn’t get better from there. I was working 50-60 hours a week. Ken was taking classes, working part-time, playing pool, and making lots of new friends in study groups. We were struggling to make rent payments, I was struggling ethically with my job and was depressed. The kids were missing their grandparents, and our marriage was in shambles.

We knew we needed help. We reached out to the Counseling Department at the Seminary and met with the director. We left the first meeting feeling more discouraged than ever. I felt like the people that I trusted to give us the guidance we needed to improve our marriage had just said, “Get used to it,” and left us to figure it out alone.

Everyone was against us! Something had to change.

My prayers were much like this Psalm - a cry for help! God had called me to ministry at the age of 14 and had been faithful to open the doors along the way. I had to focus on His faithfulness. In verses 4-7, the psalmist does the same:

Surely God is my help;  the Lord is the one who sustains me. Let evil recoil on those who slander me; in your faithfulness destroy them. I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;  I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good. You have delivered me from all my troubles, and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

- Psalm 54:4-7

I’ve learned that, in the midst of the trial, we’ve got to call on God to intervene. We need to remember what He’s done in the past and anticipate what He will do in the future. And finally, we have to thank him that He’s there in the fire with us!

Shortly after that experience, Ken found a seminary in Phoenix, Arizona that better fit the needs of our family. When calling to find out more, the woman who answered the phone just happened to be Ken's cousin's mother-in-law. Coincidence, right? We had some friends who had recently moved to Phoenix and offered to house us for free and store our belongings in their garage. So at the end of that first year of seminary in Ohio, we packed up a 26’ U-Haul with our car behind and began a whole new adventure.

The best part of that story is that Ken also got a job during and after seminary in Phoenix at a title insurance company. That led to a promotion offer in San Diego. When we made the visit to see if we’d like to move here, we “happened” upon a church meeting in an elementary school in Carmel Mountain Ranch, and met Pastor Harry after the service. And, well, the rest is history.

Friends, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, feeling like everything is pushing against you, run to Jesus! Remember what He’s done in the past and cry for help.

I can assure you, He will answer your prayer!

Pastor Pam

‍