What sorts of trouble cause you to cry out to the Lord? After all, we can’t deny that sometimes our sin or the sin of other people causes us great pain. That was certainly the case with the men of Ezra’s time who married people who didn’t share their faith. Just hearing about such a flagrant breach of God’s law caused Ezra and many of the other faithful people of God to be overwhelmed with grief (Ezra 9:3-4).

And Psalm 107 agrees, with verses 10-11 pointing that those who rebel against the words of God often end up in misery and chains. Yes, we all know that the poor choices of rebellious fools often lead them near to the gates of death (verses 17-18), as those who have fallen prey to alcoholism or drug addiction can heartily concur.

But Psalm 107 goes on to paint a more nuanced picture of the suffering that comes into all of our lives. After all, it isn’t just sinful people who find themselves hungry and thirsty when they are lost in the desert (verses 4-5). And it isn’t somehow contrary to God’s will to engage in commerce across the world’s oceans. But sinful and godly sailors alike are subject to the dangers of storms on the open seas (verses 23-27). No, suffering and difficulty are simply part of the human condition in a fallen world like ours.

But the good news the psalmist brings us is this: if we cry out to the Lord in our trouble, He will deliver us out of our distresses (verses 6, 13, 19, 28). And notice that the psalmist uses the same exact words to describe God’s saving work whether we are wickedly foolish or whether our troubles are no fault of our own. In either case, we are called to give thanks to the Lord for His unconditional, covenant-keeping love, and for the wonderful way He shows that love to us, whether we deserve it or not (verses 8, 15, 21, and 31).

Yes, the good news is that if God does indeed punish the wicked (verses 33-34), He also chooses to bless the hungry and thirsty (verses 35-38), and to protect the needy and oppressed from affliction (verses 39-41). So, no matter what we may be going through, and no matter the reason for our suffering, why shouldn’t we trust such a powerful and loving God? Why shouldn’t we cry out in faith to the only One Who can truly save us?

Psalm 107 (NASB)

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3 And gathered from the lands, From the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region; They did not find a way to an inhabited city.
5 They were hungry and thirsty; Their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 He led them also by a straight way, To go to an inhabited city.
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!
9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.
10 There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death, Prisoners in misery and chains,
11 Because they had rebelled against the words of God, And spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their bands apart.
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!
16 For He has shattered gates of bronze, And cut bars of iron asunder.
17 Fools, because of their rebellious way, And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorred all kinds of food; And they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses.
20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!
22 Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters;
24 They have seen the works of the LORD, And His wonders in the deep.
25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind, Which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, And were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses.
29 He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad because they were quiet; So He guided them to their desired haven.
31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men!
32 Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people, And praise Him at the seat of the elders.
33 He changes rivers into a wilderness, And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
34 A fruitful land into a salt waste, Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He changes a wilderness into a pool of water, And a dry land into springs of water;
36 And there He makes the hungry to dwell, So that they may establish an inhabited city,
37 And sow fields, and plant vineyards, And gather a fruitful harvest.
38 Also He blesses them and they multiply greatly; And He does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they are diminished and bowed down Through oppression, misery, and sorrow,
40 He pours contempt upon princes, And makes them wander in a pathless waste.
41 But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction, And makes his families like a flock.
42 The upright see it, and are glad; But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.
43 Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things; And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD.