He sat in the driveway long after the porch light flicked off. One hand on the steering wheel, the other gripping the radiology report like it might go away if he squeezed hard enough.
Behind him, the house where his children slept. Inside him, the question that had stopped all the noise in his life.
Will God help me now? Or is this the kind of impossible He doesn’t touch?
Psalm 107 wasn’t written on calm days. It came from deserts, prisons, sickbeds, and storms. Every verse smells like desperation. It’s a psalm for the stuck, the ashamed, the barely-hanging-on. It answers the question that polite religion tries to avoid: Will God really help me? Even in this?
Let’s be honest. Most people don’t doubt whether God can help. They doubt whether He will.
This psalm walks through four gritty case studies—four different kinds of impossibility. Each one ends the same way: They cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them.
It doesn’t explain God—it shows Him, walking into hopeless situations and turning them around.
1. Lost in the Wasteland (Verses 1–9)
The first story is about wanderers—people rescued from bondage but now starving in a barren land. They aren’t in chains anymore, but they’re perishing just the same. No water. No shelter. No road home.
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.” (Psalm 107:6)
They didn’t fast for forty days. They didn’t craft a perfect prayer. They just cried.
And He responded. He led them to a city. He satisfied their hunger. He quenched their thirst. He gave them rest.
How many of us have been here? We know we’re free. But we’re exhausted. Drained. Not sure if we can take one more step.
This is your psalm. He helped you when you were dying inside. He’ll help you again.
2. Shackled in the Dark (Verses 10–16)
Now we’re inside a prison. These men sit in the shadow of death—bound in chains, locked behind iron bars. But they’re not innocent. They got here by rebelling against God’s Word.
“They had rebelled against the words of God and spurned the counsel of the Most High.” (v. 11)
Still, they cry. Still, He hears. And God doesn’t just forgive. He shatters the bars. He breaks the chains.
No halfway rescue. Complete freedom.
Some of us are in prisons of our own making. Addiction. Bitterness. Lies. Maybe we’ve hurt people. Maybe we’re ashamed to even look toward heaven.
But He hasn’t written you off.
Cry out. He specializes in jailbreaks.
3. Sick from the Inside Out (Verses 17–22)
The next portrait is a man wasting away. The psalmist calls him a fool—someone who ignored God and is now paying for it.
“They loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.” (v. 18)
He’s not just sick. He’s dying. Physically. Spiritually.
But again—he cries out. And again—God answers.
“He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” (v. 20)
The same God who spoke the universe into being speaks again. And this time, His Word heals.
Maybe you’re reading this in a hospital bed. Or maybe you’re not sick on the outside—but your soul is gaunt. You’ve lost the taste for grace. And you’re afraid it’s too late.
It’s not. Cry out. The Word that saves is still alive. And He still speaks.
4. Drowning in the Storm (Verses 23–32)
Now we’re in a boat. The sea is roaring. The sailors—professionals—are panicked. They stagger like drunk men. Their courage melts. They’ve reached the end of themselves.
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.” (v. 28)
Sound familiar?
Maybe it’s not wind and waves. Maybe it’s bills and test results. Divorce papers. Or the silence of unanswered prayers.
Life throws storms that make even the strong stagger.
But Jesus still speaks to the wind.
And when He says, “Peace, be still,” the chaos listens.
That wasn’t a metaphor for better times. It was rescue, plain and simple. And He’s still rescuing.
5. The Impossible Reversed (Verses 33–43)
Now the psalm turns a corner. You’ve heard the rescue stories. But maybe you still think your case is different.
This part is for you.
“He turns rivers into desert… He turns desert into pools of water…” (vv. 33, 35)
It’s a cascade of contrast:
- Rivers dry up. Deserts fill with springs.
- The fruitful become barren. The barren overflow.
- The proud are brought low. The poor are raised high.
God flips the script. Over and over.
If you think your story can’t be rewritten, this psalm says otherwise. If you think it’s too late, God says you’re early. He hasn’t even started yet.
The only prerequisite for rescue?
Desperation.
Cry out.
And watch what He does with your impossibility.
Final Words: What the Wise Will Do
Psalm 107 ends here:
“Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.” (v. 43)
If you’re wise, you won’t just read this. You’ll live it. You’ll learn from it. You’ll see His hand in your own story.
You’ll cry out—again—and again. And each time, He will show you what His love looks like in real life.
And this psalm, this strange and powerful psalm, will become yours.
You’ll whisper its refrain every time the night closes in:
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever.”
A Prayer for the Crying Soul
Father,
For the one reading this with a storm in their chest, for the one stuck in their own shame, for the one whose strength is gone—I ask You to act. Again. Like You always have. Hear their cry. Make their desert a garden. Shatter the bars. Speak the Word. Still the storm.
And let this very Psalm—this rescue log—become their story.
Amen.
Recommended Resource: If you’re studying the Psalms, you won’t want to miss my in-depth review of The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon. This timeless masterpiece unpacks the Psalms with rich theological insight, making it essential for devotion, sermon prep, or deep Bible study. Read the full review here.
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