When my family’s dog, Barnabas, started having mobility issues, we kept a close eye on him.
His gait was weak and he found it challenging to navigate the house at times, so whenever we noticed he was in distress, we would rush to help him.
It was really hard to see him struggling. But recently it started me thinking: Sometimes, we humans find ourselves in much the same position as Barnabas.
We feel weak, we struggle to walk through certain parts of life and we just need someone to help us.
Thankfully, Psalm 10:14 tells us there is Someone looking out for us in our distress. The Psalmist says of God, “But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.”
This verse reminds us: God sees and God will help us.
God sees.
“You do see trouble and grief…” it says.
That word “do” is important. God does see, even though sometimes we think he doesn’t.
He sees the trouble we face.
And He also sees what the experience of that trouble does to our insides.
Anyone who has ever tasted trouble will tell you, there is an emotional weight—a grief—to suffering. And while this burden may not always be visible or appreciated by those around us, it is visible and appreciated by God.
After declaring that God sees trouble and grief, the Psalmist says, “You consider it to take it into your hand.”
He doesn’t just see what we’re going through, He deeply considers it and takes it in His hands.
Don’t you love that?
I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of any hands I’d rather have holding my trouble and grief than God’s.
His hands are strong enough to hold us together and yet gentle enough to wipe away tears with the compassion of Someone who’s been there.
Yes, we want God to take our trouble and grief in His hands. This is where we can find comfort in the hardest of times.
God will help us.
The Psalmist goes on to say, “You help the victim and the fatherless.”
You know, in Scripture, there are many verses that speak about the suffering of the fatherless. Those without fathers were often taken advantage of because they had no one to defend them.
Maybe you can relate.
Maybe at times you feel as though you have no defender—as though life is coming after you and there’s no one to stand in the gap, no one to say “no” to the injustices or to see to your needs.
But if that is you, this verse reminds you: God will be your Defender. He will be your Helper and your Father. He will be your everything.
So trust God to be all of this for you, today.
It’s His track record. He helps the victim and the fatherless.
And He will help you, too.
I don’t know when or how He’ll choose to do it.
But I know that whatever it looks like it will be good.
I think about the lengths to which my family would go to help our sweet pup, Barnabas, because we love him… and God loves us even more than that. Plus, His hands aren’t limited like ours in how they can help and support.
Surely the help He gives will be just what we need.
Our God takes our trouble and grief in hand and helps us.
May we take heart and trust Him.
This devotion is based on one of the Scriptures from my reading plan: “Summer Soundtrack” on the Psalms. To receive a copy of the reading plan (and future reading plans), sign up for the email list below. Hope you’ll follow along!
©2024 Paige K. Burhans
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