God’s Phone Number – Call Him!!

The past couple of months have been very interesting and at the same time a little upsetting. I have talked to several people who are going through an incredible amount of hurt or major obstacles in their life or they are having some big spiritual struggles. Some of them work for a company that is shedding jobs and salaries, trying to keep from going under. Some are even looking at one of the jobs being cut off was theirs. Some are part of churches that are going through a lot of turmoil and uneasiness and are trying to figure out where to turn for spiritual strength and comfort.

Some have a marriage that, at the moment, is ready to go into the tank and become another statistic. And what is sad is they are willing to admit that they have contributed to the problems. However, now they are trying as hard as they can to make their marriage work, to make their marriage “all it can be”. Still, they are not sure where things are headed and they hurt.

Work. Family. Church. Health. Finances. These seem to be the major categories in our lives. And between all of these things life can get very complicated, both from things we have done as well as those things that just happened. And if God feels very far away from you today, if you feel that God is unconcerned and out of the picture, then I want you to listen to a word of encouragement from the Old Testament that is still very true today.

As you read through the Old Testament you will see that God’s people faced one crisis after another. Sometimes it was because of their own faulty choices; sometimes it came by way of a surprise attack. But, no matter how they got into their troubles, “in all their distress, He too was distressed” (Isaiah 63:9). When they hurt, He hurt. When they suffered, He suffered.

Okay, here is my point: God’s GPS is not broken and He has not lost the directions to your house. Also, know that God is not waiting to work you in between 12:00 and 4:00 next Wednesday much like the repair man. God feels you’re hurt. God grieves in your struggles. He knows exactly what you are going through. Listen to what Isaiah said: In all their distress, He too was distressed” (Isaiah 63:9). In essence, Isaiah is saying that you are not the only one hurting. And the comforting part of all of this is that His is the kind of hurt that knows how to help you.

Struggling right now? As the old hymn says,

“My Jesus knows when I am Lonely. He knows each pain, He sees each tear, He understands each lonely heartache, He understands because He cares.

Chorus: My Jesus knows just what I need. Oh yes! He knows just what I need. He satisfies and every need supplies, Yes, He knows just what I need”.

So what do we do when struggling? Dial up God’s phone number – Jer-333 (Jeremiah 33:3), “Call to me and I will answer…”

-David