“During those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.”
– Exodus 2:23
Exodus 2:23 Reminds Us That God Hears Our Cries.
What a great picture. Obviously, Exodus 2:23 references a hard time among the people of Israel. That’s not what’s great. They’re in the midst of of misery as slaves in Egypt, and yet in the midst of their need, in the depth of their need, they cry out for help. Their cry comes to the ears of God, and He hears them.
Isn’t this a glorious truth. That no matter what happens in our lives, no matter how this world hurts us, no matter what depth of sin, or sorrow, or sadness we may find ourselves in at any point to know that we can cry out to God for help. And our cries will reach His ears just as they did in Exodus 2:23.
We Should Bring Our Struggles To God
That’s good news. I imagine people who are listening to this right now, many people walking through difficult times. Maybe in the depth of sorrow or sadness in this way or that, or struggling through this or that circumstance in your life. Maybe it’s even in your struggles with sin just feeling like, “Oh, I can’t overcome this”. No matter what your situation is, know this, there is a God in heaven who desires to be your help. God wants to help you, so cry out to Him.
Exodus 2:23 Reminds Us To Cry Out To God Boldly
This is the Christian life. It’s a daily crying out to him as referenced in Exodus 2:23, “God, we need your help in our battles with sin and temptation. Lord, we need your help in the midst of sorrow and struggle in this world. King of Kings, we need your help in the depth of suffering. When we cry to God, we can know He hears us, and He answers us, as we’ll see all throughout the book Exodus. So we can pray with confidence, oh God, we need Your help.
God is With Us in The Valleys
Just think, today in my own life, in others’ lives, we are bombarded with temptation on all sides, temptation to sin, struggles with sin. We pray today for Your help. We praise You that as we’re crying out to You right now, You are hearing us. That our cry is reaching Your ears. In the midst of sorrow I think about a family that I have been walking through the midst of tragedy around them, and sorrow and sadness they never could have dreamed. God, please help them, please help people who are listening to this right now who are going through all kinds of difficulties.
God, I pray for those who are walking through suffering and sorrow, and there’s grief, and pain, and hurt. Lord, as they cry out to You, may they know that You are hearing them. May they know the help that only You can give. Please help them, oh God. We praise You for Your love for us, for Your willingness to help us, for Your willingness to hear us, that right now we’re not just doing a religious exercise, that we’re talking to You, and You are listening to us. You hear the cries of Your people for help, and You show Yourself faithful as our helper.
All glory be to Your name, oh God, the God who hears us, and the God who helps us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
