God Knows Your Sorrows - No. 40
Exodus 3:7,9, “And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians… behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.”
Read also Genesis 50:24-25; Exodus 4:31; Deuteronomy 26:6-9; Nehemiah 9:9; Psalm 106:43-45; Isaiah 63:9; Acts 7:34.
“I know your sorrows!” There could not be any more comforting words that you could hear from your loving Heavenly Father.
Are you going through a time of sorrow in your life? Dear one, God says to you, “I know your sorrows.” He feels touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” He sympathises with your weaknesses. Your heartache. He has not forgotten you. Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that we have a High Priest who is "able to sympathize with our weaknesses."
Have you been crying out with anguish and grief? God says to you, “I hear your cry. I see your tears.” His ears are open to you. Psalm 56:8 TLB says, “You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.” Read also Psalm 116:8, 126:5-6 and Isaiah 25:8.
Are you in a situation where you feel under servitude? Do you feel like you are in a prison from which you can’t escape? Are you groaning under hard bondage as the children of Israel? God says to you, “I see your oppression.” The eyes of the Lord run to and fro over the whole earth. He sees what is going on in your life and in your home.
“But”, you answer, “If God sees my heartache and hears my cry to Him, why doesn’t He do something about it?” I’m still suffering.
God had not forgotten His people in Egypt. He knew their sorrows. He watched over their afflictions year after year. Although they lived in Egypt for 430 years, historians believe that their persecution began about a hundred years before their deliverance. They could have lived under persecution for a whole century, although it intensified in the latter years. But God was not deaf to their cries of anguish as they endured their bitter slavery. He had His perfect timing. In fact, He was already working! He was preparing a leader and it couldn’t be done in a moment. He spent 40 years preparing Moses out in the desert, and at the right moment, He brings His deliverer upon the scene.
Dear mother, do not despair as you wait for God to answer your cry. God is already working, although you may not see it yet. He will bring His deliverance in His perfect timing. Wait for God’s moment for then it will be a true deliverance. God does not always do His work in haste. He does a thorough work and it often takes time. It takes time for Him to complete His work in us. It takes time for Him to perform His work of grace in those who affect our lives.
I pray that you will be comforted and encouraged by these beautiful promises:
Psalm 22:24 NLT, “For He has not ignored the suffering of the needy. He has not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries for help.”
Psalm 31:7 NLT, “For you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.”
Psalm 34:18 NLT, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted, he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 40:21-2 MLB, “I waited and waited for the Lord; then He bent over to me (Oh how tender! Oh how personal! Oh how wonderful!) and heard my cry. He brought me up from a destructive pit, from the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, steadying my steps.”
Trust Him, dear one. He knows and understands your sorrows.
Love from NANCY CAMPBELL
PRAYER:
“Thank you, dear Lord, that you know and understand the grief and heartache I am going through. I thank you that you are my faithful High Priest and you feel my oppression. I thank you that you are working on my behalf right now. I trust you, Lord. I submit my life to you, knowing that you understand my sorrow, and that you will work out your perfect will in my life. Amen.”
QUOTE:
“God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears;
God shall lift up thy head.
Through waves and clouds and storms
He gently clears thy way;
Wait thou His time, so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day.”
From a hymn by Paul Gerhardt, translated by John Wesley.