“From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help.”

~Reflections on Psalm 130~

Whose help do I call for when I’m in despair?  
He alone can help!  I look to all others in vain.  
How thankful I am that we may boldly approach His throne of grace to find help in time of our need. (Hebrews 6:14)

“Hear my cry, O Lord.  Pay attention to my prayer.”

We can be certain that He hears us when we cry out to Him. Just think: we have the attention of Almighty God!

“Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?”

Certainly not me!  
Friends, aren’t you so grateful that in Christ, He does not keep a record of your sins? 
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

May I therefore, as well, not keep a record of the sins of others!
“(Love) keeps no record of wrongs.” 1 Corinthians 13:5
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”  1 Peter 4:8

“But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.”

There is no other response to His forgiveness than to be in awe and wonder of Him, His grace, and His mercy!

“I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word.”

Who else can I count on 100%?  No one!  Even the best intentioned person will let me down and fail me, even as I have (and will continue to) let down and fail others. When we count on the Lord and put our hope in Him, however, we are never disappointed!

“I long for the Lord more than sentries (watchmen) long for the dawn, yes, more than sentries long for the dawn. O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. He himself will redeem Israel
from every kind of sin.”

Our longing is for the Lord, HE is the One our soul longs for, even when we don’t realize it.  Just as it is in vain to look to others for help, it is in vain to look to anyone or anything else for true and lasting satisfaction.  “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”  (Psalm 42:1)

In Him alone is unfailing love. “Love never fails.”  (1 Corinthians 13:8)  HIS love never fails.  That means His love ALWAYS comes through.  NOTHING can separate us from the love of God – neither “death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”  (Romans 8:38)

His redemption overflows. There is no shortage of His redemptive work. It is not “just enough” –  it is more than enough. He redeems from every kind of sin: His blood covers all and cleanses our conscience that we may go on and serve the living God.  “Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God.  For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”  (Hebrews 9:14)

How good He is!  How trustworthy, how attentive!  How powerful yet forgiving; not treating us as our sin deserves!  When in the depths of despair, may we meditate upon these truths, counting on Him for all of our needs.  Before long, we will find ourselves echoing the psalmist: “Why, my soul, are you downcast?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”  (Psalm 43:5)