The Overwhelming Importance of Understanding that the Sooner One Cries Out to God for Help, the Better!

11 Aug 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   11 August 2026   Psalm 38:22.

Psalm 38:22.        Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

Ah friends, we’re on a somewhat late bus this loverly Tuesday morning, because I’ve been forced to spend time on the phone with representatives of my phone and internet company, the mighty Bell Network, trying to fix a relatively simple problem.  It’s been three days now since the problem arose and the Duchess began talking to them. And she is still talking to them. She is indeed a better woman than me, for I interacted with them twice and lost my cool each time. That’s why I don’t deal with those kinds of problems, but I got involved because the service is in my name. But the good part of it all, is that though I can get angry when faced with unnecessary bureaucracy, my anger doesn’t last for long. Praise the Lord! (smile)

And today we’ll check out a rather interesting and relevant poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled ‘The End of the Rope.’ As always, I don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but it’s certainly worth sharing again, especially in these trying and troubled times. So please read with me. ‘O dear God I feel as though I’m clinging To a rough, swinging rope. Beneath me there is only emptiness. My hands are bruised and bleeding. There is no possible way For me to tie a knot At the end of the rope And hang on. O God, please help me. (And God’s response is:) Frightened child Just let go. I’ll catch you.’

Oh my people, isn’t that the living truth? It certainly is, for whenever we’ve reached the end of our rope, the Lord is always there to catch us! And He allows us to get there because then we realize that there’s no other place to turn than to Him. We either fall into the bottomless abyss or turn to God and desperately cling to Him. It’s a lesson than many of us today need to learn, for we are fighting the idea of turning to God, trying to do our own thing without very much success, and it’s only when we cannot do anymore in our own strength that we finally turn to Him.

But that’s not a very wise way to live my brethren. We ought to turn to God as soon as possible, so that we don’t ever feel like we’re swinging from a rope, with bruised and bleeding hands, staring at only emptiness below us. And then we end up doing like the Bible verses for our poem, crying out: ‘Do not abandon me, O Lord. do not stand at a distance, my God. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my saviour.’ (Ps. 38:21-22) That’s the New Living translation. Here’s how the King James version says it as Bruh David writes about sins being a heavy burden. ‘Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.’

Anyway we say it though, it’s still a cry for help from the Only One who can help us when things get real bad and it looks like we’re sinking into the mire of death and despair. And Bruh David for one is not afraid or too proud to call on the Lord for help in his tough situations, as He does again in Psalm 22 – a Plea for God’s Presence – where he cries out: ‘But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.’ (Ps. 22:19) And we all know that Lord helped him numerous times as he went through a lot of trials and tribulations, but many of us are too proud to ask or cry out for help.

And thus foolish pride eventually has us swinging from the end of a rope, headed nowhere but down to destruction. Let’s remember too that pride is possibly the sin that the Lord dislikes most, because it tells Him that we don’t need Him, and according to Cousin Sol, is listed among the seven things that are an abomination to God. (Prov. 6:16-19) Consequently, that’s why our world is also in such a chaotic state, for foolish pride is rampant all over it. And you only have to look at the leaders of today’s nations to see how pride is causing more disaster than anything else, because they all feel they know best, are greedy, power hungry and egotistic, and most have no use or time for God.

And the few who spout some sort of godly rhetoric are mainly paying lip service, because their actions show no godly intent or purpose whatsoever. No wonder the Lord apparently refuses to intervene in our troubles, allowing us the freedom that we so greatly desire to do it ourselves, and create the chaos that’s currently enveloping our world. The big picture of our world certainly looks like many of us dangling from that proverbial swinging rope, hands bruised and bleeding, with only emptiness below us. But our foolish pride still prevents us from crying out for help to the Only One who can help us in that disastrous situation; Almighty God.

That’s why Cousin Sol wrote so much about the benefits of wisdom in Proverbs. ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.’ (Prov. 4:7) Wisdom; the knowledge of something, and understanding; knowing how to use that knowledge properly are the foundation of a successful life. And the great importance of wisdom and understanding is shown earlier on in Proverbs, where Cousin Sol declares: ‘The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.’ (Prov. 3:19)

That means, if our great God used wisdom and understanding to create the universe, then we ought also to be very much interested in them and use them constantly in our lives. Unfortunately though, Satan has blinded the eyes of our hearts to the truth, and thus we keep on falling into nothingness. But for those of us who know the truth, let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

That then makes us duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…don’t wait until you’re at end of your rope…to cry out to God for help…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 August 2016 Psalm 38:21-22.

02 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 38:21-22.    Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

And then it was Tuesday…! Yeh friends, the celebrations and leggo beast partying of Caribana and Emancipation Day finish for another year. It’s time to get back to the rat race we term work. 

And just like on a normal Monday morning, many of us are feeling tired and weary and hung over. I guess that includes me too, (smile) because I had to force myself to get up and come down to write the Bit. 

Consequently, we are whining and complaining about our lot in life; meaning going to work. But my people, you know how many unfortunates out there will gladly switch places with us. Chuh! 

So let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves and just get on with our tasks. We weren’t complaining when the music was rocking and the party was in full swing though, so why do it now eh? 

Anyway, here’s an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It reminds me so much about believers, that I just have to share it. It’s titled ‘The End of the Rope.’ 

And it goes like this: ‘O dear God I feel as though I am clinging To a rough, swinging rope. Beneath me there is only emptiness: My hands are bruised and bleeding: There is no possible way For me to tie a knot At the end of the rope And hang on: O God, please help me…   Frightened child Just let go. I’ll catch you.’  

Ah friends, doesn’t it remind you of certain times in life, when we have found ourselves in dire straits and simply could not hold on to the life rope any longer, and were thus in imminent danger of drowning or falling down the steep cliffside?  

But you know what my brethren, once we are true believers in the awesome God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we really have nothing to fear. As God says in the poem, in our frightened times, when our hands are slowly slipping from the rope, we just have to let go and He will catch us. 

That’s His awesome promise. And you know that our wonderful God faithfully keeps ALL of His promises! He is definitely not like the rough and ready Scottish priest back in Tobago in the days of my youth, who apparently told his young son, standing on the back of a jeep; ‘Jump my son, jump. I’ll catch you.’ 

And when the trusting child jumped, the father moved away his hands and the child fell to the ground. And the father’s reputed advice to his trusting son; ‘Trust no man, not even your own father!’ Ah Lord eh! Some of the stories of our youthful days…! (smile)

And the Bible promise for that poem is also our Bit for today. ‘Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.’ 

Yes my people, that was Bruh David’s cry in his time of need and sorrow, taken from Psalm 38 – The prayer of a penitent heart. And unfortunately, in these rather rough times, these last days, many of us are feeling the stress and strain of daily life, but please do not be afraid to cry out to our mighty God for help. 

If Bruh David, such a faithful man of God, could do it, so can we. And if the Lord helped him, so will He help us. We just have to keep on believing and living and walking by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor.5:8) 

And please don’t think that it’s only once Bruh David cried out to the Lord for help. He cried out whenever he found himself in difficult situations, and so ought we to do, though with genuine penitence not merely crying out for crying out sake. 

Let’s check out a couple more times when Bruh David cried out to the God of his forefathers for succour. Listen to him from Psalm 22 – A cry of anguish and song of praise. Note friends, how he amalgamates both emotions in one prayer. 

‘But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling (my precious life) from the power of the dog. 

Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns (and from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered me.) I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.’ (Ps.22:19-22) 

Ah friends, Bruh David found himself in an awful predicament, surrounded by his enemies, whom he likened to ravenous, wild beasts. And in it all he felt forsaken by God. But that did not stop him from crying out for help and also acknowledging God’s power and past help, and later on in the psalm his great faithfulness. 

That’s how we ought to behave too my people: cry out, but remember His past help and acknowledge His power and faithfulness and believe. 

And from Psalm 35 – A prayer for rescue from enemies, Bruh David solemnly declares: This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me. Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgement (vindication), even unto my cause, my God and my Lord. Judge (vindicate) me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.’ (Ps.35:22-24) 

Yes friends, let us not be afraid to cry out to our omnipotent God in sincerity and truth, when the storms of life bombard us. Remember Jesus’ Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…’ (Matt.11-29-30) Look up the rest for yourselves. (smile) 

Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra with sincerity and true belief. ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen’ 

Now with those truths filling our souls, let’s go out and share the wonderful LOVE of Jesus with the rest of the world, as He desires of us. Much LOVE!

…when the world comes against us…our God will most faithfully be there for us… 

P.S. Please excuse the lateness, but the ole fella is only human too, and he got caught up in the celebrations. (smile) And the breaking up of the Bit at the top is not my fault but Outlook’s. I’ve written it properly. Much LOVE!