How to Find the God Who Answers When You’re Distressed
You know that dismantling way a verse in Scripture can seem like it’s just for you? How you feel seen through in an instant by the kind gaze of Jesus?
That was me on day three of a 90-Day Bible Reading Challenge*—overcome by “the God who answers me whenever I am in distress and who is with me wherever I go” (Gen. 35:3, The Voice).
And I wondered if this verse might be for you too–you in the middle of a wrestle for wisdom, discernment, peace in the midst of something unexpected and unsettling. You awake with worry in the middle of the night. You wishing there was an easier way forward.
What a promise! God knows what troubles us. He cares, He answers, He cherishes. And He comes close, closer, closer still. To willful and wandering us. To numb and needy us. To aching, alone, or unsettled us.
Think for a moment on this: there is nowhere you can go—on your feet or in your car or in your mind—that the grace of God can’t meet you. There is nowhere too callous, too broken, too self-in-tune that God’s love can’t penetrate.
Nope. There is nowhere on this great, wide earth or in the chasms of your mind that is out of reach for Him (Ps. 139:7-12).
Ruined By God Who Answers
The day I felt instantly seen by Gen. 35:3, I penned in my journal** both the heavy and the hope: From finished and released, wrestle and relief–to my knees, lost in Psalm 63.
I’m one to play the same soaking, Spirit-infused song on repeat, and I collect my can’t-turn-off songs in a playlist (free to you!). But today, I’m embedding this Psalm, sung by Justin Rizzo, right here for you. Because maybe you need to be ruined by a God of infinite, relentless love instead of the thing churning your insides.
After days straight of listening to this song, I paged through my Bible to the Psalm and read it slowly. Let’s take a moment read verses 1-8 together:
O True God, You are my God, the One whom I trust.
I seek You with every fiber of my being.
In this dry and weary land with no water in sight,
my soul is dry and longs for You.
My body aches for You, for Your presence.I have seen You in Your sanctuary
and have been awed by Your power and glory.Your steadfast love is better than life itself,
so my lips will give You all my praise.I will bless You with every breath of my life;
I will lift up my hands in praise to Your name.My soul overflows with satisfaction, as when I feast on foods rich in marrow and fat;
with excitement in my heart and joy on my lips, I offer You praise.Often at night I lie in bed and remember You,
meditating on Your greatness till morning smiles through my window.You have been my constant helper;
therefore, I sing for joy under the protection of Your wings.My soul clings to You;
Your right hand reaches down and holds me up.
We might be walking through a wilderness, as David the Psalmist was, but we too can cling to our Savior. We too can find joy in Jesus right here, today.
Rejoicing In the Difficult and Dreary
I find the more attune I am to God’s nature–the more deeply I know Him–the more easily my heart rejoices no matter what feels difficult or dreary.
As I begin the 90-day challenge for the second year in a row, here’s what I’m finding: God’s names and nature littered across the pages. His pulse and His pace, the features of His face, and the fullness of His grace. I pick up a pen, half giddy, and write
Jan. 1–You are Happiness (Ps. 1:2), Fruit Ripener and Tree Planter (Ps. 1:3), Journey Charter (Ps. 1:6), Always-Protector (Gen. 15:1), Truth Teller (Gen. 15).
Jan. 2–You are El Roi–”the God of Seeing” (Gen. 16:13), El Shaddai–”the God All-Powerful” (Gen. 17:1), Redeemer of Laughter (Gen. 21:6), Jehovah Jireh, My Provider (Gen. 22:14).
Jan. 3–You are Fear Eraser, Filler of “Great Delight and Unrivaled Joy” (Ps. 4:7), El-Elohe-Isreal–”God, the God of Israel” (Gen. 33:20, The Voice).
Jan 4–You are Saving Light and True Compassion (Ps. 6:4), Bent Ear and Hearer of My Heart (Ps. 5:1), “All-Powerful One who will bless” (Gen. 49:25, The Voice).
These are passages I’ve read before, but pausing to record the God I’m discovering along the way, shifts my heart over to expectancy.
What more will I find as I read rapidly through the Word? Who will I say God is by the time I get to the end? How will the glorious gravity of God’s goodness and grace floor me along the way?
Ripple-Effect Pursuit of God
Wherever you are in this moment, friend, God sees you and He knows just what you need.
Will you trust Him? Trust Him to redeem, in time, in His always-on-time time?
Will you stay tender and tip your ear towards Him?
Will you seek Him with unashamed hunger, He who is never ashamed of you, who wildly adores you, who thinks about you constantly?
Will you praise the One you behold, the One who ruins you with glimpses of His glory–even, especially, when life weighs heavy and your heart’s wrung and your hope is but a glimmer?
The way you lean in now, the way you love Him nevertheless, it creates a ripple effect. Someone else will see the evidence and maybe it will give them the strength to find the Light.
Let’s pray.
Jesus, You always give us reason to rejoice. You are always reliable, always loyal, always good. Give us eyes to see it. Stir our desire to know You. Wreck us in the best way. And may our pursuit of You ripple out beyond us into our homes, neighborhoods, and communities.
* I’m taking Mary Demuth’s 90-Day Bible Reading challenge (and you can too!). Sign up HERE.
** Ann Voskamp’s Sacred Prayer journal is the one I’m using, and her questions gives space to record who God is, where we are in relation to God, and more. I find it dovetails beautifully with Mary’s challenge.
Just a friend over here in your corner,
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