“Wounded Soldier”
God I am weak.
I feel alone.
I am like a soldier wounded in battle by the sword.
A soldier whose battalion has fled.
I am left to die.
Alone, weak, I cannot go on.
I have accepted death.
I cry out but no one can hear me.
No one is nearby to help me, or lend a hand.
I cannot go on with my own strength.
If only I had the strength of another to guide me to safety.
If only I had a doctor to heal my wounds.
I feel like a failure, as the walls of my city behind me crumble to the ground, and all my people are taken captive.
I trusted in my walls, when I should have trusted in the Lord.
I ignored Gods instruction, and instead listened to myself.
Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever felt alone? Weak? Hopeless? You’re not the only one; in fact even the prophets, the kings, and the apostles felt this way. Whether you are a follower of Christ or not, you have felt this way before. God knows that we all feel this way at times, and so we can have hope in Him because of His love.
Psalms 107 paints a great picture of the love the Lord has for us. The problem is that our pride can sometimes get in the way.
Let’s take a look at Psalms 107:4-22
Vs 10-17 “Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.
Vs 17-22 Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of deeds in songs of joy”
Vs 23-32 “Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For He commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quit, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.”
In all four instances we see that these people came to the point of hopelessness, and they perhaps felt alone and weak.
We must ask ourselves, who do we relate to?
Do we relate to the one wandering the desert looking for a “city”, going through life with no purpose, wandering, being tossed by the wind?
Or are we like the ones who sit in darkness and in deep gloom in prison, afflicted because of our rebellion against the word of God?
Are we like the fool who knowingly continues in sinful ways, accepting whatever makes him feel good, eating whatever he can find because he is not truly satisfied by his sin?
Or are you doing business on the great waters, scheming evil plans, filled with greed?
The truth is, we can relate to any one of these people, perhaps even all of them. But praise God this is not the end of the story. In each case we see that the people became so hopeless that they began crying to the Lord, they called to Him. When trouble arises, it is natural for a human to feel fear, lonliness, hopelessness, and even weakness. The verses say, “They cried to the Lord in their trouble”, and every time God answered them, “He delivered them from their distress”. And each time He showed them with His wondrous works.
God does not stay silent, God answers with mighty works, with works that will bring you to worship and praise. After each deliverance we see the writer saying, “Thank the LORD for his steadfast love, and for his wondrous works to the children of man." The difficult part is waiting for God's timing.
If you are in this place of darkness and hopelessness, I encourage you to cry out to the Lord. Do not stop, because God will answer your genuine cry for help. He will see your distress and have mercy on your soul. God’s promises are everlasting, and He has made so many wonderful promises to us. He promises that if we believe in Him and confess our sins that we will be saved, and that He will bless us. This chapter, written so long ago, is proof that no matter how much sin you have committed, no matter how far you have gone, even to the “gates of death”, God will redeem you and it will make you thankful for His steadfast love.
My hope for everyone is that they would have the patience to wait for the Lord's answer. Nobody knows the mind of God and therefore it is hard to trust in Him. But God allows us to be in these dark places so that we have no other option but to cry to Him, to call on His name for help. He is sitting there waiting; perhaps He awaits your continuous prayer so that you come to the point of a genuine change of heart, because although a change of heart can happen overnight, the continuous prayer and cry for help will transform your mind and your heart for the long term.
Romans 12: 2 says “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, and acceptable, and perfect”.
Continuous prayer and steady Scripture readings will renew our minds to be conformed to Gods ways. Therefore as we cry out to God day and night to relieve our stress, we become closer to Him, just like any relationship here on earth. If we don’t speak to our friends and family we will have no relation with them and we will drift apart. So it is with God, He needs to see our hearts yearn for Him and His ways. Once this happens it is a beautiful thing, and the Lord longs to show us His beauty. Remember that God is jealous for us and He wants us to be in relation with Him.
I pray that these words will sink deep into your heart, not my words, but the words of God. I hope that my experience with Gods grace can encourage you to keep going. The poem at the beginning of this post titled “Wounded Soldier” is something I wrote in my journal a while ago about the way I was feeling inside. I stumbled across Psalms 107 and the Lord used it to encourage me because I could relate to every situation that the writer wrote about. Most importantly, I was reminded about the steadfast love of the Lord and the desire to praise Him and thank Him. I urge you to stay strong in the Lord and never cease to call on His name, for He will answer you.
In Psalms 107:1-3 it states this, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered from the lands, from east and the west, from north and the south”.
God Bless,
Mike
