You don't know where to go, what to do, or how to change the circumstances around you. Torment, confusion, hopelessness, misery, pain—oppression is what you're suffering from.
You storm out of the house, get in your car, lock the doors and prepare to just drive away. Where? It doesn't matter. Just away from everything! You can't take it anymore. You're miserable. You're frustrated. You're tired of trying to make things work that simply aren't working.
In your extreme frustration, you lay your head against the steering wheel and just cry out to God, "Lord, please help me. I'm in over my head."
You don't know where to go, what to do, or how to change the circumstances around you. Torment, confusion, hopelessness, misery, pain—oppression is what you're suffering from.
Oppression is defined as the act of oppressing, the imposition of unreasonable burdens; the state of being oppressed or overburdened; misery; hardship, grief, calamity, depression, dullness of spirits; a sense of heaviness.
Freedom is defined as the state of being exempt from the control of another.
I've written this article for the sole purpose of telling you this: Jesus is the Oppression-Lifter!
He came to set you free from the control of oppression. You don't have to live your life as it is right now. You don't have to lay in bed crying, worrying and afraid another night.
You don't have to go another day just surviving your circumstances. You don't have to accept that things will never change in your situation. Jesus is the Way-Maker. He makes a way where there seems to be no way to bring you peace, hope, joy and love in the midst of impossible, heart-breaking situations.
You're not alone. No matter what the devil may tell you, you are not alone. God intends to see you set free—spirit, soul, and body. So, wipe your tears, pull your shoulders back, hold your head up and let's get on the road to your recovery.
Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: My throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.Can you relate to what the Psalmist was feeling? Are you tired of all the crying? Do you feel like you've cried all the tears you could possibly shed? Are you just waiting on God to do something?
(Ps. 69:1-3)
The Message translation reads this way, "God save me. I am in over my head." In other words, the Psalmist is saying, "I am in trouble, and I need some quick results."
Does that describe how you feel right now? Do you need a miracle in your life? Do you need a breakthrough? Do you need God to change some things in your circumstances?
Your situation may look hopeless, but it is not hopeless. We serve the God of hope. The God we serve can turn it around. He is a master at turning adversity into victory.
There Is A Solution
Not knowing what to do or how to change your present condition can be one of the most miserable, lonely feelings in the world. When you feel as though you're in over your head, Satan can make you feel absolutely hopeless. He will attempt to magnify your problems so that you can't see the solution. There is a solution to what you're going through.
Did you read that? There is a solution.
When someone cries out for mercy, it indicates that there is nothing they can do in themselves to change their circumstances. It is recognizing that you don't have the wisdom to handle this situation. You don't have the power, the means, the resources, the strength or the ability to change your circumstances so you are dependent on God.
You have to trust God in this situation. If you are to be delivered, then you know it is going to be because God's mercy was manifested.
Bartimaeus
There was a man in the tenth chapter of Mark named Bartimaeus—he was a blind beggar. He heard that Jesus had come to his village. Even though Bartimaeus couldn't see Jesus, he heard the crowds. He heard them talking about this man, Jesus.
Bartimaeus had heard about the miracles of Jesus and it stirred his faith. He finally thought there could be hope for his life. And there Jesus was, standing on his street where he sat and had begged for years. When Jesus arrived, he began to cry out, "Thou son of David, have mercy on me."
When he cried out for mercy, he was saying, "I am powerless to change my own circumstances. There is nothing I can do, but I am dependent on You. I am asking for Your mercy."
When Jesus confronted him, He said, "What do you want Me to do?"
Bartimaeus said, "I want you to recover my sight. I want you to deliver me from this blindness."
Notice he associated mercy with healing. He associated mercy with the miraculous. He cried out for mercy. In his mind, mercy produced miracles. Mercy was synonymous with healing, deliverance and miracles. So, Jesus gave him his miracle; Jesus opened his eyes and he could see.
There Is Hope
W. E. Vines describes mercy as the outward manifestation of God's compassion. It is the benevolence of God toward those who are hurting. The mercy of God implies tenderness or kindness. It is also an act of favor.
When you ask God for mercy, you are asking God for a favor. You are saying that you are powerless to change your circumstances; therefore, you need the mercy of God.
It makes no difference how impossible your situation looks or how big your need might be; the mercy of God, in manifestation, brings with it adequate resources to meet any need. You need to cry out for the mercy of God right now. He hears your cries, and He will answer.
You may be at the bottom today. You may be at the end of your rope. You may be spending many sleepless nights not knowing what else could possibly be done to turn your situation around.
You may be reading this article as a last resort searching for hope. I want to encourage you today: don't give up. Don't quit. It is not over. Just because the circumstances indicate that it is and just because the devil is saying that it is, it is not over.
As long as there is mercy, as long as you serve the God who is gracious and full of compassion, it is not over. Your best days are just ahead.
Your future is still bright. It doesn't matter what you've done or how bad you think you've messed up, God will turn this entire situation around for His glory and you will be smiling, rejoicing and you will be free again!
Cry out for the mercy of God and keep your eyes on Him.
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