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O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! Psalms 61:1
Have you ever been in a situation where you are trying to explain something to someone and you can tell by body language and other clues that they aren’t listening to you? Oh, they hear your words and see your lips moving, but the information is failing to make any inroads at all.
Or, perhaps you are like me. While I hate to admit it, there are times when I’m being talked to and my attention is elsewhere and I miss part, if not all of the message. You may even try to call the person out or even touch their shoulder and say something like “Are you hearing what I’m trying to tell you?”
Some people are hard of hearing. While they try to hear information, they simply can’t because of a physical disability. Must most of us, at least at some point in our lives, have a listening problem, not a hearing problem.
Do you ever feel like God is like that in your prayers? Do you ever want to say, as the Psalmist, “O God, listen to my cry! Here my prayer!” Notice the emotion in David’s words. In our 21st century vernacular it may come across as “ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? HELLO!”
Theologically speaking, we know God hears our prayers, but theology and practicality don’t always mix. I like this verse because it reminds me that I can be honest with God,
It reminds me that when my prayers don’t seem to get past the ceiling, I know they have been heard even though emotions tell me differently.
It encourages me to know that others struggle as I do, even King David, the ‘man after God’s own heart’!
Is your heart heavy in prayer today for a son or daughter, a struggling marriage, a past that seems to haunt you, fear of the future. Let your Father know how you REALLY feel. He can handle it and he may reward you for your honesty!
Lead me the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow. Psalms 5:8
Have you ever been hiking through a forest and lost sight of the trail? Some trails are well marked or even paved. Sometimes though, trails can be hard to follow. Other trails made by animals or people who have taken it upon themselves to find different way, can make your progress confusing, or even dangerous!
We live in a time when many trails cross our paths making it hard to discern which way to go. How many times have you thought (or even said) ‘if only God would just send me a text message or an email so I’d know what to do?’ It seems like around every corner there is a fork in the road.
“Do I choose this relationship or move away from it?”
“Do I take this job, or look for something different?”
“What is the best way for me to eat the way I know I should?”
“I’m facing a transition in life transition.What are next steps?”
When the path becomes difficult to discern, Jesus gives us three steps to help us keep on the path of safety and success.
First, remember that the enemy wants to keep you off course, so ASK the father for direction.
Secondly, don’t be mislead by the path that may seem the most traveled. SEEK for signs of the proper way through prayer, seeking advice from trusted, Godly friends, and reading God’s word.
Lastly, Move forward! FINDing the way is a process. Detours make take us longer to get to our destination, but we may learn valuable lessons along the way.
The Father and I are one. John 10:30
If you want to know what God is like, see Jesus.
Throughout history there has been an effort to define God. If you read through the Old Testament, and believe it to be the word of God, you may be inclined to see a God of anger and wrath, a God that warns that disobedience will bring swift and deadly consequences.
Yet if you read deeper into those passages you see that the times of ‘God’s wrath’ were natural consequences of human behavior or the refusal to heed God’s warnings.
Jesus not only came to die for our sins, he came to show us the Father. Jesus makes the statement in John 10:30 that he and the Father are one. Not that they are the same person, but the same in essence and purpose.
Want to see what God is like?
He’s the good shepherd that seeks you out when you have wandered off.
He’s the one person you can count on to get down in the dirt with you when you’ve been caught in adultery (or any other sin).
He’s the one that will reach out and touch you when society rejects you (as he did with the lepers of his day).
He’s the one that calls you to himself with the storm is raging around you, and lifts you up when the walk across the water is too much.
Want to see God? See Jesus!
What other pictures of the Father do you see in the life of Jesus?
He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. I John 2:6 (NKJV)
Jesus walked with purpose. When one walks with purpose, they neither jog or saunter. They are not wandering around, but have a purpose in mind, a destination to get to and a mission to accomplish. Those who walk with purpose are seldom distracted by their surroundings. Throughout the gospels, especially in the book of Mark, verbs define Jesus’ life.
Jesus also walked with passion. His purpose was fueled by the passion he had for his mission. And people were his mission. His passion for people empowered him to love them. His passion attracted those who lived a lifestyle completely opposite of what he stood for. His passion for others rose above politics, ethnicity, and gender.
Jesus walked with wisdom. He knew what he stood for. He knew what his father, Jehovah God, wanted from him. He did what needed to be done, while at the same time taking care of himself physically, spiritually and emotionally.
Abiding in Christ means that we walk with passion, purpose, and wisdom through the power of the Holy Spirit.
For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! Isaiah 64:4
Unrealized dreams. Unfinished work. Unmet expectations. Disappointing results. You’ve been there. We all have. Those times when, hard as we try, life doesn’t work out as planned.
Our efforts, or the efforts of others we put our trust in, turn out to be an epic fail. It’s easy to get caught up in the negative.
The voices of criticism and mockery tend to remind us of ways in which we fall short. Have you ever noticed that the harshest voices tend to come from your own mind? I do. I’m my own worst critic.
Maybe it’s time to step back and remind ourselves of what’s really important and who is really holding this all together.
Isaiah reminds us that while our human efforts may fail, the works of our God last forever. He’s never late. He’s never overwhelmed or surprised.
When we’re learn to wait on him, we’ll see his power unfold in front of us.
Ask for his leading. Wait for his timing. Act in his power.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 