God Hears When We Cry

"Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. ²⁴ For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard." 

Psalm 22:23-24

Those who place their faith in Jesus Christ have an everlasting, sure hope.  The world loves to glorify the strong and mighty, those who have great fame and wealth.  Nothing makes the people in the world as disillusioned as when they see their idols tumble down to earth from the pedestals men have created.  People shake their heads in disgust when those rich with worldly things choose death over life to escape their pain.  Give me the wealth of the sports hero, give me the fame of the most popular singer, grant me the power of the most influential political figure, says a dreaming man, and I shall better use it.  What he does not understand is how money, fame, and power will rot him from within, and that he too would remain dissatisfied and empty with everything.  Everything without God is nothing.  It is man's darkest hour when he finally obtains the desire of his heart only to find it impotent to meet his real need.  It was all a lie.  What a man thinks will save him apart from Christ ends up dragging his soul to hell.

Unless a man has faith in the God who created all things, he has nothing.  Can money save a man's soul?  Can fame grant a man righteousness on the Day of Judgment?  Is there any power greater than God's?  One does not need to have live long on the earth before he faces troubles greater than himself.  It is in Jesus Christ we find a God who is greater than any trouble we might face.  Instead of despising our weakness, Jesus became flesh as we are.  It is written of Him in 1 Timothy 3:16:  "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."  He was greatly afflicted, and the Father hearkened unto His cries.  Those who are born again by faith in Christ also have this consolation:  when we are afflicted, God does not hide His face from us.  When we cry out in our affliction to God, He hears us and will answer.

Do you know this comfort and peace that passes understanding?  Most people of this world know much of suffering, but little of comfort.  Money, fame, and power will all pass away, but those who trust in the name of the LORD will never be ashamed.  The comfort provided by God is not temporal, but eternal.  It does not numb and cloud the senses like alcohol, but sharpens them.  Our blind eyes are made seeing through Christ's touch, and our hardened, stony hearts are made soft.  We have in Christ a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and the Holy Spirit has been sent by God to indwell and empower all who believe the Gospel.  Let us not be as Aragon in the Lord of the Rings, who gave hope to men but kept none for himself.  Let us walk in this hope by faith in God, as truly as we have received it from Him.  Let us fear the LORD and praise Him, for He has not hidden His face from us.  "Turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."