My memory was shot. I could remember nothing. I genuinely believed I was beyond repair. Then a crazy man began to disciple me and challenged me to memorize Scripture. I gave him every excuse in the world. I had documented medical proof that I could not do it. But I tried anyway. I made a deal with him and with the Lord: every week I would memorize one verse.

“He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” — Psalm 107:20

There’s a line that echoes through Psalm 107 like a drumbeat:
“Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble.”

It appears again and again (vv. 6, 13, 19, 28), reminding us of something we’d rather not admit:
most of the trouble we face is trouble we walked ourselves into.

We bring storms on our own heads.
We wander into deserts of our own making.
We break things we were never meant to carry alone.

And yet:
God hears.
God answers.
God heals.

Psalm 107 is hope for every person who has ever made a mess of their life.

He Sent His Word

“He sent His word and healed them.”
Not a lecture.
Not a punishment.
Not a cold shoulder.

A word.

Just like Jesus healing with a single sentence, the power of God’s voice moved toward people who had caused their own suffering. They were “delivered from their destructions.” And the Hebrew there implies the very pits they dug for themselves.

That’s the kind of mercy we’re dealing with.

A Scene From a Plague Gate

History gives us a vivid snapshot of this mercy.

In 1545, when the plague was raging through Dundee, preacher George Wishart stood on the East Gate. The sick outside the wall, the healthy inside. His chosen text for a city drowning in death?

Psalm 107:20.

Wishart preached about the comfort of God’s Word, the danger of ignoring it, the readiness of God’s mercy toward repentant hearts, and the hope of those God takes home. Eyewitnesses said that the sermon strengthened people so deeply that they didn’t fear death anymore. They counted it gain to go home to Christ, unsure if they’d ever again hear such comfort.

That’s the power of a Word sent in the darkest places.

Grace Runs Further Than Rebellion

Spurgeon put it plainly: “All that God has to do, in order to save us, is to send us His word.”

He has sent it in Christ—the Living Word.
He has sent it in Scripture—our daily bread.
He has sent it through preaching—the foolish thing that saves.
And He sends it home to our hearts by His Spirit—the power that makes dead things breathe again.

We bring much of our trouble on ourselves.
But God brings healing without hesitation.

Psalm 107 is for the addict who thinks they’ll never break free.
For the parent who feels like they’ve already failed.
For the man who carries shame like a second skin.
For the woman whose memories still bleed.

By receiving God’s gift of forgiveness, anyone can begin again.
By faith in Christ, addictions can break, memories can heal, relationships can be restored.
If we ask Christ to take control, He answers. Every time.

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