"Today's Devotion" For August 16, 2003
Read: I Samuel 3:1-18 Psalm 20
WHO'S LISTENING? by Rev. Richard Boeck
"...call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will glorify Me." (Ps.50:15)
You've seen the commercial. The ordinary guy, wearing a jacket and glasses, holding a cell phone to his ear, and repeatedly stopping and asking, "Can you hear me now?" And then it seems that the only other word in his vocabulary is his response, "Good!" The poor guy's going to have a scrambled brain from being on the phone that much; and it looks as if he's set foot on every spot in the country, testing his cell phone's reliability. Yet, I've always had this one question, "Who's listening to him at the other end?" Who'd have so little to do in life that they would just sit and say, "Yes", when he asks his question. And what would happen if that listener responded with a "No?"
On a storefront church near my house, I regularly see a sign that says, "God's trying to tell you something." Every time I see that sign my reaction is, "No He's not!" God doesn't "try" to tell us anything. He just tells us. The problem is that we're generally not listening. It's a situation no so far removed from the "Can you hear me now?" guy. God is continually asking, "Can you hear me now?", and getting "No" as our reply. There's no way that's a "good" response.
Fortunately for us, while we're not such good listeners, God is. He hears our cries for help when we're in trouble. He hears our cries for mercy when we repent of our sins. From the oldest to the youngest, the richest and the poorest among us, our cries go before God's throne of grace and He listens, understands, and answers according to His Will. When we cry out to Him over and over again, despairing and doubting that He is listening, His response is "Yes, I hear you."
Even when we think He's not listening because He's not answered us the way we want Him to, He's still listening with the ear of the perfect Father, hearing our pain, frustration, fear, want, and despair. He's still going to respond in the way that's best for us. Sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the One to pay the price for our sins on the Cross, is God's ultimate answer to our question, "Who's listening?" He's been listening all along, even when we weren't and aren't. After all, if He wasn't, there would be no hope for us at all. Oh, yes. One final question. How will you answer that "Can you hear me now?" question from God?
Prayer: Father, I'm not such a good listener as You are. I don't always pay attention to what You say, nor do I always listen for the still, small voice of Your Spirit. Forgive me for being such a poor listener. Help me to not only be a better listener to You, but also a better listener to those around me. Show me how to listen to others, as You listen to me, so that I might share Your love for them in Jesus Christ more effectively. Open my heart and mind, so that I might hear You more fully, and obey You more completely, as I serve You, and others in Your name, with courage and joy. In Jesus' precious and most holy name I pray. Amen.
--Pastor Boeck Copyright @2003. All rights reserved.
************************************* Pastor Richard Boeck is writer and publisher of “Today’s Devotion,” a brief, daily devotion that brings the grace and love of God in Jesus Christ to bear on the events of the day and people’s lives. If you wish to receive a free subscription please send an email to: (revrboeck@netscape.net). Please put “Send me‘Today’s Devotion’” in the subject box. Please also include your first and last names in the body. You may also address any questions to the same address. ************************************
