Cries of Distress 急难中求告
Dexu Xia
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. Psalm 118:5
Trapped under two floors of collapsed rubble caused by an earthquake, five-year-old Jinan, a Syrian girl, called out to rescuers as she shielded her little brother from the debris surrounding them. “Get me out of here; I’ll do anything for you,” she called heartbreakingly. “I’ll be your servant.”
Cries of distress are found throughout the Psalms: “When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord” (118:5). While we may never experience the crushing weight of earthquake-collapsed buildings, we all recognize the suffocating fears from a challenging medical diagnosis, economic hardship, uncertainty about the future, or relational loss.
In those moments we may offer bargains to God for deliverance. But God doesn’t need to be persuaded to help. He promises to answer, and while it may not be relief from our situation, He’ll be with us and on our side. Nor do we need to fear any other peril—including death. We can say with the psalmist, “The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies” (v. 7).
We’re not promised as dramatic a rescue as Jinan and her brother experienced, but we can trust our faithful God, who brought the psalmist “into a spacious place” (v. 5). He knows our situation and He’ll never abandon us, even in death.
By: Matt Lucas
How has God shown Himself faithful when you’re in distress? How have you recognized His presence during difficult times?
Heavenly Father, I call to You knowing that You hear me. Thank You for being faithful and loving.
我在急难中求告耶和华，祂就应允我，把我安置在宽阔之地。—诗篇118篇5节
在叙利亚的地震发生后，五岁的女孩姬南被困在两层楼高的倒塌废墟中。她一边向救难人员求救，一边以自己小小的身躯为她弟弟挡住四周的破瓦残砾。她的求救声令人心碎：“救我出来，我会为你做任何事，我可以作你的仆人。”
圣经诗篇多处记载诗人在急难中的哀求。例如在118篇，诗人说：“我在急难中求告耶和华”（5节）。虽然我们可能没有经历过被压在坍塌的建筑物底下，但在面对棘手的医疗诊断、经济困难、不确定的未来，或失去亲属时，我们都能体会到那令人窒息的恐惧感。
在这些急难的时刻，我们可能会向上帝许诺，以交换祂的救援，但上帝不需要我们说服祂才给予帮助。祂允诺会回应我们的呼求，虽然或许不是立即救我们脱离水火，但祂会一直与我们同在，祂会帮助我们。我们无需害怕任何危难，包括死亡。我们可以像诗人那样宣告：“在那帮助我的人中，有耶和华帮助我，所以我要看见那恨我的人遭报。”（7节）
上帝并没有应允我们，会像姬南跟她弟弟一样奇妙获救，但我们可以信靠这位信实的上帝，祂将诗人带到“宽阔之地”（5节）。上帝深知你我的处境，祂永不离弃我们，即使我们在面对生死关头时也是如此。
作者： 陆明德
当你遭遇急难时，上帝如何展现祂的信实？
在困境中，你如何体会祂的同在？
亲爱的天父，我向祢呼求，因为知道祢会垂听。
谢谢祢以信实与慈爱恩待我。