Call Upon The Lord

Psalm 118:5, AMP

“Out of my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free and in a large place.’”

As I read this verse, it occurs to me that we cannot be set free unless we call upon the Lord. Unfortunately, most people do not call upon the Lord until they are in a place of severe distress, and have exhausted everything else they can think of to try to set themselves free. That would be me. You too?

A place of distress is often one of captivity or bondage. It is usually very restrictive in the sense that there seems to be no escape. This could be a physical prison, or some other emotional bondage like addiction or depression.

I went to prison one time, late in life, but I had been in emotional bondage for years. I had been in great distress for quite some time due to bi-polar illness, homelessness, unemployment, suicidal depression, depravity, perversion, pride, greed, and drug addictions. But until I went to prison I was too proud to call upon the Lord.

On my bunk, ten months into my sentence, I finally got real with myself, and with God. I told Him, “I realize I’m not doing such a hot job of running my own life, look where I ended up! God, please help me. If you can do anything with my life now, I will serve you with all of my heart for all of my days.” The Lord answered me and set me free!

TODAY’S CHALLENGE:

From your own personal place of distress today, call upon the Lord. Tell Him you want to be free.

Dive Deeper: Study Psalm 118; Jeremiah 33:3; Psalm 40:1-5; Psalm 34:4.