Call on the Lord! (Psalm 20)

“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you” (Psalm 20:1)! In Exodus 3 God tells Moses that He has observed the misery of His people and that their cry for help has reached His ears. When Moses, aware of his own inadequacies, is overwhelmed by the task that is confronting him, God redirects his thoughts. The victory is accomplished by the strong hand of God.

What was the name of the God of Jacob? “God spoke to Moses and said to him, ‘I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known” (Exodus 6:1,2). By telling them His name as not only God Almighty but Lord, He was inviting them to not indulge in discontent and fretfulness but instead to call on Him.

“Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust chariots and some in horses but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright” (Psalm 20:7,8) This truth was on display when, “The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-Zephaniah” (Exodus 14:9). But things are not always what them seem. The victory didn’t belong to the chariots and horsemen, it belonged the Lord and to those who called on His name.

When the battle lines are drawn and your heart trembles at the enemies you face, remember that God Almighty is Lord of heaven and earth. So call on the Lord in the day of trouble. When the burden you are carrying threatens to crush you, remember that your cry reaches His ear. When you’ve exhausted your store of endurance, when your strength has failed and you feel like you are being pursued by chariots and horsemen, call on the Lord. He will answer you in your day of trouble.

There is a bigger picture than the one we see with our eyes of flesh. The battles that seem hopeless can become our greatest victories when we put our trust in God. “Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea” (Exodus 15:21).

Praise The Lord - Imperials

When you’re up against a struggle
That shatters all your dreams
And your hope’s been crushed
By Satan’s manifested scheme
And you feel the urge within you
To submit to earthly fears
Don’t let the faith you're standing in
Seem to disappear

Praise the Lord
He can work through those who praise Him
Praise the Lord
For our God inhabits praise
Praise the Lord
For the chains that seem to bind you
Serve only to remind you
That they drop powerless behind you
When you praise Him

Now Satan is a liar
And he wants to make us think
That we are paupers
When he knows himself
We’re children of the King
So lift up the mighty shield of faith
For the battle must be won
We know that Jesus Christ is risen
So the work's already done!