The harbor they longed for

A couple of months ago, I was reading Psalm 107 and saw that it had a despairing yet beautiful repetition. It describes people caught up in the struggles of life, people that didn't have a city to call home, people who sat in darkness and gloom all chained up, foolish people, people lost at sea.  We're the people who can't find shore again. We can't find the lighthouse on the horizon to guide us home.

Yet as each of these sections recognize the desperate situations we find ourselves in, it shines out hope, a steady heartbeat of life that is audible over and over again.

"Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and He brought them out of their distress." Psalm 107:28 (see also verses 6, 13, and 19)

Every time it introduces someone in despair, it quickly reminds us that those who cry out to Yahweh the Lord God are heard and rescued.

"He stilled the storm to a murmur,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.
Then He guided them to the harbor they longed for."  Psalm 107:29-30

Who we cry out to matters. He expects us to acknowledge our neediness and He sends rescue. He sent the ultimate Rescuer in His Son - Jesus. He is the harbor that we long for.

- John