When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. [Psalm 91:15 (NLT)]
When we moved to our small Midwestern town over fifty years ago, we paid our utility bills at the local drugstore and I longed for the “good old days” when we sold our northern home recently. Trying to update our information and go completely paperless, I attempted to access our various accounts on line, meaning I had to remember (or create) a wide variety of user names and passwords. If I managed to sign in, I’d get to the security questions and discover that my favorite color or dessert is not what I thought it was! Once past that hurdle, I had to prove I wasn’t a robot by deciphering those squiggly letters and numbers (a near impossibility)!
When I couldn’t accomplish my task on line, I’d resort to a phone call. It would be answered with a computerized voice offering a list of options, none of which ever seemed quite right. Another robotic voice would then ask a series of questions (“to better serve your need.”) Eventually, after being put through several programmed interrogations, I’d be put on hold. When I wasn’t being told how important my call was, I was subjected to a loop of horrible music and advertisements for additional services (along with the helpful suggestion that I go to the company’s website which, of course, I had already tried.) Occasionally, a voice would tell me how much longer I would be in the queue before an operator would be available. When I took the option of having them call me back, the call never came! Once, after holding for what seemed an eternity, I got disconnected! When I finally spoke with a real person, it was often someone in a distant land whose accent baffled me as much as mine baffled his. We’ve all been in similar situations. We cry out, “Is there no one there who can hear me, who understands my problem, who cares, or who can help?”
Thank you, God, for never requiring me to log on to your heavenly site. Thank you for not requiring an account number, a user ID, a password, or a security question. You always know who I am, where I am and what it is that I need. Thank you for being available 24/7, never putting me on hold, and always returning my call. Thank you for understanding me, even better than I do myself. Thank you for speaking softly yet clearly to me. Thank you for never passing me off to someone else and, most especially, thank you, God, for never dropping my call!
And He knows my name. Every step that I take,
Every move that I make, Every tear that I cry,
He knows my name. When I’m overwhelmed by the pain
And can’t see the light of day, I know I’ll be just fine
‘Cause He knows my name – He Knows my Name! [The McRaes]
I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! [Isaiah 65:24 (NLT)]
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The story is told of a circuit-riding preacher who never failed to thank God for the day’s weather. One Sunday, after battling through wind and sleet to his preaching appointment in a distant town, the congregation wondered how he could be thankful in such dreadful weather. When it came time for prayer, however, he said, “This is a wretched day, dear Lord, no doubt about it. But, we thank Thee, Lord, that every day isn’t as bad as this one!”
Under King Solomon’s reign, the temple and palace were built in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, to accomplish this task, the people were severely overworked and heavily taxed. When Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king, the populace pled with him to reduce their taxes and ease up on the labor demands. The sacrifices they’d endured during the building of the temple could not be sustained forever. They pledged to be Rehoboam’s loyal subjects in return for his lightening their load.
At last Sunday’s worship, we sang Frances Havergal’s beautiful hymn “Lord, Speak to Us, That We May Speak.” First published in 1872, the hymn originally had the heading “A Worker’s Prayer,” and made reference to Romans 14:7: “none of us lives to himself alone.” It is a simple prayer that God will speak to, lead, feed, teach and fill us so that He can use us in the service of His kingdom. Busyness had taken over my days and, having fallen behind in my writing, my supply of devotions was running dangerously low. Indeed, I needed Him to speak to me so that I could speak!
A few years ago, while skiing, I got lost during a snowstorm and ended up on a double-black diamond run. In knee-deep powder, I faced a narrow steep trail that was covered with ferocious-looking moguls. Looking down at the daunting terrain, tears filled my eyes. Picturing all that could go wrong, I wanted to quit but, unless I planned on staying there until the spring thaw, I had no option. If I wanted to get to the base, I had to get down that run and so I prayed for guidance. Words spoken by a ski instructor came to mind: “You can get down anything if you take it one turn at a time.” While I couldn’t picture doing the whole run, I could picture making just one turn and so I made that turn. Then I made another and another and got down that intimidating slope simply by taking one turn at a time.
Not so long ago, it was hard to face my computer with any enthusiasm. Every beginning led to a dead end or took me down a rabbit hole of confusion. The paragraphs over which I’d struggled had come to nothing and my hours at the keyboard seemed an exercise in futility. It’s as if I had little scraps of useless fabric but couldn’t find a way to quilt them together. I wondered where God was when I so desperately needed His guidance.
Devotions of the Heart 