A Prayer When You've Had Enough

“Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.” (Ps 14:7 AV)

This has been a weird day.  I went to be with nothing left in the tank.  Because of my faults, sins, lack of faith, etc, I was at the end of my rope.  I was so empty, I could hardly breathe.  Preaching this morning was a real chore.  The last two years have been very difficult.  It started with the COVID hysteria coming to an end.  Then my wife was diagnosed with cancer.  It ended with this frigid polar vortex that is threatening to freeze all our pipes.  I have been shoveling for three days straight and the more I shovel, the less it seems I am getting ahead.  Being almost 60, shoveling heavy snow mixed with ice chunks does work for me.  We got a twelve-inch storm, which normally isn’t the end of the world, but living in the city makes it immensely more difficult.  City plows cannot do their job properly because people do not follow parking restrictions.  Trying to place magical parking spaces is something we do in the city.  From Friday evening until this morning, there has been non-stop pressure on me with more problems than I can handle.  Add to this my wife calling me yesterday stranded on the highway in the middle of a storm with what she thought was a flat tire.  When it rains, it pours.

When I read the above passage this morning, I couldn’t help by feel I was the one praying for the return of Jesus Christ.  There are times we get pushed to our limit.  We simply want the trial to end.  We need the salvation of Jesus Christ to come out of Zion.  The writer is not talking about eternal salvation.   He is speaking of the salvation of the Jews from Gentile control.  He is speaking of the liberation of Israel from its enemies over the last few millennia.  He is speaking of the return of Israel to her land and liberty from her enemies.  The writer is looking for deliverance.  They have had enough.  Yes, much of what they suffered, like us, is self-inflicted.  They went into captivity because did not protect them.  They were disobedient and the LORD allowed them to suffer for their disobedience.  He just wants it to stop.

This was where I was this morning.  I couldn’t get myself out of bed.  It is Sunday, so I had to preach.  I didn’t have the strength to walk, let alone preach.  I had prepared to preach Hebrews chapter nine, but I knew that I didn’t have the strength or wind to do it.  So, instead, the LORD had me preach from my devotions two days ago.  Genesis 35:11 was my verse.  The LORD allowed me to process all that I had been going through the last two and a half years.  God knows what He is doing.  He knows what we need.  Salvation did come out of Zion.  It came in the form of strength from the LORD.