Psalm 18:9-10 says, “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy…” Verse 19 ends with, “…He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

David was overwhelmed when He penned Psalm 61. Verse 1-2 are a great template for us when we are overwrought, in despair, or overwhelmed. It says, “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

Jesus is the Rock Of Our Salvation. When we cry out to Him in our struggles, He brings us into His sheltering love. Think of Deuteronomy 32:10. Though this is speaking of Israel, we can apply it to our situation. “…He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.” We also are cherished and protected.

Psalm 130:1 says, “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” As I was memorizing verse 2, I thought about the voice of one crying out.

In a room full of people, a parent immediately knows that the crying child is theirs. Why? They recognize the voice. When we cry out to the Lord, He not only knows our voice, but He knows all the emotions of our heart in our voice. Amazing.

Cry out to Him in your need. Supplication means an intensity and earnestness to fully transfer our burden into God’s hands. There are many psalms that use the words to cry out.

I love Psalm 18. David was in such dire straits. Saul and his army surrounded him. In verse 3 he wrote, “I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.”

I recently read an autobiography by Avis Goodhart. The title is “Out Of The Dust: story of an unlikely missionary.” I thought about it again as I memorized Psalm 113:7. It says of God, “He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the need out of the ash heap.” 

In the Old Testament, dust and ash heap were symbols of the lowest shame and deepest poverty. If you will remember, when Job’s body was covered with boils, he sat on the ashes. Job 2:8 says, “And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.”

I love Psalm 40:2. Think of the miry clay like quicksand. It is impossible to extract oneself as you sink in quicksand. That is the way we were before we accepted Jesus. We were helpless and hopelessly lost. We could do nothing to extract ourselves from a life of sin.

Isaiah 42:8 says, “I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another…” Deuteronomy 6:13 says, “You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him…you shall not go after other gods…”

Don’t let others’ sins pull you down into their sins. Be an example of a believer. We can’t fight another’s fleshly reactions through our flesh. Come in an opposite spirit. Jesus was kind to the unthankful and evil. Luke 6:35.

Ephesians 4:1 says, “…walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling…which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”

As the devil sought to derail Jesus from His purpose, so he does with each of us. Do not get distracted! Stay focused. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith…”

I loved how just a tiny twist of my kaleidoscope as a child changed the whole scene. I was memorizing Psalm 112:6. The last part says, “…the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.”

As I thought about this phrase, I realized it was not talking about our remembering as a human. It is about the Lord always remembering us.

Isaiah 49:15-16 says, “…Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands…” I wonder if when we get to heaven, it will be like a kaleidoscope experience. Just a little twist and the scene will change.

1 John 3:2 says, “…we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” Think of the four living creatures with eyes all around and their view of the Lord. Each new view brought another burst of worship. Revelation 4:8.

Aaron and Miriam got distracted. They allowed a bitter root to spring up. It defiled their inner being. They criticized Moses, and discussed it together. I think of Numbers 12 as God taking Aaron and Miriam to the woodshed.

He questioned their hearts after He heard their conversation. Verse 8 says, “…Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” I have to use this verse myself when I want to complain in my mind about others. 

Mental dialogue against anyone or any circumstance is sin. Don’t get distracted! Romans 14:4 is a verse that I view as a momma cat carrying a kitten in her mouth. The kitten can’t speak or move. It says, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls…”

Matthew 7:2 says, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged…” I certainly don’t want that noose around my neck.

We have to guard our quiet time, or we will be pulled away from it through distractions. My uncle was slow at getting jokes. He told folks, “Do not tell me any jokes on Saturday night.” The reason was that during the Lord’s table the next morning, he would get the joke’s punchline and it was a distraction.

Moses had an incredible relationship with the Lord. There are some verses about him that I really love. I believe Exodus 33:11 was the key to his leadership. It says, “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend…” Moses spent his quiet time in the Presence of the Lord.

Hebrews 11:27 gives us another insight. In the Amplified it says, “(Motivated) by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held steadfastly as one who gazed on Him Who is invisible.”

I love Psalm 107:20. It says, “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” Pride ~ doing things independent of God. One who fears the Lord, walks in the humility of dependent trust.

Psalm 112 has a key verse to put into our memory bank. Verse 7 says of the one who fears the Lord, “He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”

This verse has special meaning to me. The day I told my mom that she was not expected to live because she was full of cancer, her heart was steadfast. Her words, “So I’m not going to make it after all.” 

Her doctor had told me six weeks. Her eternal hope sustained her until He took her home four days later. She knew her name was written in the Lamb’s Book Of Life, and she had nothing to fear.