08272022 Place of Safety

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our compassionate God, the one who sees and hears us in our distress, and whose loving heart reaches out to help and support us.

This morning I want to share a verse that God just blessed me with. “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him” (Psalm 12:5).

“Oppression” – being taken advantage of, exploited, maltreated, misused, acted against violently. “Sighing” – crying out, shrieking, groaning. The verse talks about the poor and needy, those in pitiable circumstances. Their condition is so difficult that their anguish escapes their body through sounds that cannot even be put into words.

God has a response to these needy people and to their moaning. He resolves to rise up on their behalf. He is going to take action. He is going to deliver. God takes that poor, oppressed soul and lifts it out of the devastation and into a place of safety. Some translators believe the final words should be “safety for which he longs.” Whether or not that is the case, would it not be true? Someone in such an oppressive situation would long for relief, would long to be lifted out.

I love the heart of our God. He sees the pitiful situation, and He deliberately intervenes. He responds to our anguish and longing, and He carefully sets us in a place of safety. Relief, reprieve, liberty, deliverance, prosperity, salvation. What a change! And all because God cares.

May you rest in His care this week, and may He intervene to lift you from a place of moaning.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA