Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Hear my cry, O God;

listen to my prayer.

From the end of the earth I call to you,

when my heart is faint. (Psalm 61: 1-2a)

It seems that the psalmist is describing the only time when many people call out to God; from the end of the earth...when my heart is faint...  Now I'm not saying that we should not cry to Him at those times when we feel the most desperate, that is a great time to call.  Lent is the time that Jesus went to the wilderness, so he knows what it is like for us when we get to that point in our lives that we feel like we are in a wilderness, at the end of our rope, or “the end of the earth”.  It is very comforting to know that when we feel that disconnected, or helpless, God can and will hear us. So CRY OUT!  Then get quiet and listen.  If you keep crying out you might miss the answer.
 

We don't need to wait for that oh-so-desperate time though.  We should call out to God at any and all times.  God is just as close and ready to hear us at any time or place in our lives.  I don't think I have ever been at a point that God could not have been able to make it even better.  But most of us don't think about calling on God when things are running smoothly.  Those “normal” days when nothing really goes wrong, or nothing spectacularly good happens.  Those are the days that we should really call out to God.  Those are the days that we could be doing some work for God.  Those are the days that we could fit in the extra kind word or deed to a co-worker, or a complete stranger.  Maybe they are crying out, and you are their answer.  I taught Confirmation for a few years.  One of the things that I always told the young people in my classes was, that God can use each of us at any time.  Every one of us may not feel like we are doing something “as big as” some one else, or as “important” as some one else.  I would explain that their particular job from God could be to smile at some one they walk past.  That person could be having a bad day, and seeing you smile at them might be just that little lift they need to see things are not all that bad, and end up feeling better.
 

So know that God can and will hear you when you cry out from where ever you are.  Then be still and listen, or watch, for the answer.  While you are crying out, or waiting for your answer, see if you might be someone else's answer to their cry.

(Jeff Heath)