But that’s usually the case for me. Has been for me for a while now. Crying. Crying out. I know for many, this time of year means quaint snowy hillsides and a quiet swaddled infant, but I think desperation and chaos are more apt. Silent night not so much. The incarnation is a celebration of unexpectedly and powerfully answered prayer. A final, fulfilling response to a yearning too deep for words.
This year found me spending some quality time with words in the book of Psalms. These poems and songs cross the spectrum of emotions and longings. That was more than appropriate for me and 2025. The psalms have previously been, and still are, a bit mysterious to me. Because the content is so gut-level and raw in many passages, it’s difficult for me to embrace. Kind of just want to hide from the realness of it and of life. Then, you do some living. And you see some dying. You do some living and see some dying and suddenly the bluntness of the Psalms makes a little more sense. As I get older, some of those harsh and abrupt expressions find a home. They catch my ear…and my soul. And like a sky canvassed by an angel choir, I was amazingly confronted with a great truth. A theme had developed in my journey through Psalms as a key characteristic of God was heralded. The volume of this proclamation hit its apex in mid-August.
An odd little thing happened to me a few times about then. And it suddenly got a bit more concerning. It only took place in one room and only at one particular time of day. As I would be getting ready for bed, I would experience episodes of vertigo. Never had it before in any form. But for a few days, it was like clockwork. Spinning room for five to ten seconds and after I laid down, it was fine. Until it wasn’t. One night, the spinning wouldn’t stop. Lay down, spinning. Close my eyes, spinning. Deep breaths, spinning. Every movement I made, or didn’t make, led to more spinning. Like David dodging spears aimed directly at him or Asaph bemoaning the circumstances that surround him, I just… reacted. Reacted with something impulsive. Something hasty and impassioned.
That particular morning, I had found myself in Psalm 34. And that morning’s reading became that day’s meditation and then became my evening’s urgently repeated cry to counteract my intense vertigo onset. Verse 17 tells us that “when the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears…”. And that right there is a truth that calms spinning rooms and soothes wayward hearts.
The Lord hears.
The Lord hears.
Praise God! The Lord hears.
That August evening, THIS poor man cried out, and the Lord heard ME and saved ME out of MY trouble (verse 6). It’s not just that after chanting that truth out loud over and over again, the vertigo vanished. It was more than that. The trouble of spinning was gone, but so too was the trouble of anxiety and worry about it. The concern of wondering if walking through that circumstance in particular, and life in general, would be a solo venture was removed. The struggle of trudging through another day without sensing in a tangible way the steadfast love of God that fills the pages of the Psalms was no more. My room stopped spinning and my heart was being pursued. A cry answered.
After that, the vertigo never returned. Only had it those few times over the course of a week or so. But that truth stuck with me. And if you allow yourself to dwell on that truth a bit, like a Psalmist, you uncover more gems. If the Lord hears, then we can conclude that He understands. (He doesn’t just HEAR, He LISTENS!) And if He understands, then His character demands that He will act. God is an initiator. He is all about looking, hearing, remembering, relenting, and causing (see Psalm 106:44-46). He will act in such a way that His glory and our good is known and experienced. Yes, even in one of THOSE situations. Even in THAT circumstance.
Think back on the last few weeks or months or years. What made your room or your world spin? Painful as it may be, name it. Note it. Remember it. Place yourself again in that atmosphere or that place or that time. And then cry out. Cry for help. Just cry. The Lord hears.
The Lord hears.
The Lord hears.
Praise God! The Lord hears.
The interesting, and confusing and frustrating, thing is that what happens next doesn’t always look like success. King David cried out, but his son still died. The people of God cried out, but were still taken captive. Justice cries out, but the enemy still shows evidence of progress. But that is where the beauty of the Christmas season shines forth. What we celebrate with Christ’s birth is not just what happened NEXT. It is more than just the NEXT step in the ongoing story of life. It is the FINAL one. With the birth of Jesus, the full answer to humanity’s cry is given. And along with his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and coming return, there is a completeness to our story with Christ. A final answer to our many cries. The subsequent carnage of our spinning lives meets its end.
Every year about this time, a phrase jumps out from a Christmas carol or other seasonal song that lingers with me. Cuts to the heart of the gospel truth of Christmas. In years past, that has included things like “be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay”, “He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found”, “O come O King of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind”, “long lay the world in sin and error pining ‘til He appeared and the soul felt it’s worth”, “give me a star” (might need to look that one up…it’s one from the Winans), “passover us” (maybe that one too, it’s from Andrew Peterson), and so many more. And as you can see, that theme of our crying out, and God graciously answering, frequently makes an appearance as I worship through the season. Like I said, Christmas to me means crying out.
This year’s song that keeps rolling the gospel truth of the season around in my mind isn’t really a Christmas song. It’s a Psalm song. Verse 1 of Psalm 116 says “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice…”. This year, my crying has fueled my love for my Lord. I pray and trust that your soul too can find rest in knowing that the Lord hears.
The Lord hears.
The Lord hears.
Praise God! The Lord hears!
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