Many years ago I read a story about a child who could not speak but could only make pitiful cries. Her story is a sad one. She had many physical defects as well as emotional problems caused by a family who abused her unmercifully. Because of this trauma in her life, she turned inward into her own silent world for self-protection and would not talk. When noticed or questioned by an adult, she could only cry.
She was admitted to a children’s home at a very young age. The resident doctor took her under his wing and began to work with her. After many years of loving care, patient counseling, and corrective surgeries, the child was delivered from her silent prison and able to speak.
I was reminded of this story this week as I read of the bondage of Israel in Egypt. (Ex. 2, 3) They sighed and cried because of their bondage. The Scriptures tell us that their cry came up unto God, He heard their groaning, and remembered His promise of deliverance to Abraham. Because of their crying, God looked upon them and said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people…have heard their cry…I know their sorrows. And I am come down to deliver them, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land…” a cry began the journey from prison to freedom.
At some point in our lives, we may be able to identify with either the child, who made her own prison, or with the nation of Israel, who found themselves enslaved by an unsympathetic king. No matter what the case may be, our deliverance begins with a cry.
~Cheryl Craft