God help us.

The LORD sets the prisoners free;

the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.

The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;

the LORD loves the righteous.

Psalm 146:7b-8

God meets us in our deepest needs, reaches into our deepest pains, delivers us from our worst experiences, and loves us with an everlasting love. What more could we really want? These are all things that our souls crave. This is what we need most. And it is the nature of God to act on our behalf. Those who come to Him in Christ are never cast out and do not need to feel cast down.

Encouragement comes as we see how God helps us in this short stance of Psalm 146. First, God liberates. “The LORD sets the prisoners free.” So many things can imprison our souls. Sins and weights can hold us in addictive captivity to them. Jesus died to set us free! Feelings like anger, hate, grief, and sorrow can lock our souls in despair’s dungeon. But Jesus has the key, has opened the doors, broken the bars, and set us free! It is for freedom that we are set free. And so we can live!

God enlightens. He brings sight to the blind and opens their eyes. We see this profoundly as the Holy Spirit helps us understand His Word. We can know truth, and it sets us free. In His light we see light, beyond our former blindness when we only lived in this world of night!

God encourages. “The LORD lifts us those who are bowed down.” Anxiety and depression are the new normal for many people now in a post-pandemic world. I see this more and more in the opportunities to counsel others. Jesus defeats this! He calls us to not worry but instead to trust in the sparrow-watching, bird-feeding, flower-dressing God Who supplies all our need and lifts up our tired hearts to Him. He gives perspective. He provides. He strengthens. He encourages.

God loves. “The LORD loves the righteous.” Do we need to languish for any other love than this? No! There is no earthly romance to match His love for us. God’s love is the ultimate passion. He pursued us all the way to a cross to die in order to have us be HIS forever. Could any lover woo us more? Would any touch be more intimate than one that died for us? There is no greater joy than His passion for us as we accept it and love Him back!

Lord,

You are my liberator. Thanks for my freedom! 

You are my encouragement and hope. Thanks for my perspective!

You are my light. Thanks for this direction!

You are my soul’s lover. Thanks for Your tender, intimate, almighty passion for all who come to You.

Amen