Cry
Today’s Scripture Selection: Psalm 18:6
Who didn’t hear it growing up: “Oh, stop being a crybaby”?
I know I did, more than once.
But I also learned that sometimes crying is perfectly acceptable. And somewhere along the way, thank God, I learned that crying to God is particularly acceptable.
The Psalmist agrees:
“In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”
And, because of that cry, the “earth trembled and quaked and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry….He parted the heavens and came down.”
Wow.
What a testimony to the depth and power of God’s responsive love and to the efficacy of our sincere cry “unto” God.
So, yes, there is such a thing as a little too much whining.
There is something to be said for silencing our petty complaints and, as it is now popular to say, “Stay calm and carry on.”
But there is also a place for true, deep, passionate, crying to God – expressing our deepest fears, needs, desires, worries, and concerns.
God hears such things. And, more than must hearing, he responds.
Who knows – God may even shake heaven and earth a bit – just for you.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for hearing my cries of true need. AMEN.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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