I wondered.......
wether God hears me. Does He really listen?
Better said, I know He hears...but does He "pay attention" to me?
I wanted to pound my fists agaisnt the sky and scream, "Do You hear me? Do You even care? Hear me!!!! God, answer! Heeeeeeaaaaaar meeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!"
I read in different places in the Bible where God answered the prayers of His children. It says in James, "Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years."
And I wondered why prayers were not availing as much.
I am promised, "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful adn effective"
Am I not made righteous in Christ?
And I wondered if He was just testing me. Making me wait on Him.
And then, one day while fasting and praying and (haha) reading Lamentations (you can see where my thoughts were :) I found this verse:
(Lamentations 3:26)
"It is GOOD to WAIT quietly for the salvation of The Lord."WOW.
I read the rest of the "passage" there too, it says,
"I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him.
Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and
let him be filled with disgrace.
For men are not cast off
by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief,
he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love."
wow. In the middle of lamentations there is a ray of hope!
And THEN I was reminded of Naomi. In the book of Ruth, Naomi tells her friends that they shouldn't call her Naomi. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life bitter."
Mara means bitter.
I wanted to change my name to Mara when I read that!
BUT then I read on....
In the Old Testament, a kinsman cuold help members of the family who became poor. For instance, he could pay their debts and buy back lost properties. When he did that, he became a "kinsman-redeemer".
HALLELUYAH
Jesus Christ is my "kinsman-redeemer"!!!!!!!!
He paid my debt!!
AAAAAaaaaaaand He's restored to me what I had lost!!!!!!
What a Savior!
And He promises me
(Isaiah 42:3)
"A bruised reed He will NOT break.
And a smoldering wick He will NOT snuff out."
"I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you."
After that, I couldnt escape Hid promises!! : )
Jeremiah 29:12-14
"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity..."
Jeremiah 31:35
"He who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the LORD Almighty is his name:"
Ecclesiastes 5:2
"Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart
to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven
and
you are on earth,
so let your words be few."
taken from Isaiah 40
"The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soaron wings like eagles;
they will run
and not grow weary,
they will walk
and not be faint."
Isaiah 64:8
"...O LORD, you are our Father.
We are the clay,
you are the potter;
we are all the work of your hand."
Isaiah 61:3
"...bestow on them
a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair...for the display of his splendor."
from Isaiah 12
"I will praise you, O LORD...
and you have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust
and not be afraid.
The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation.
In that day you will say:
"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
Sing to the LORD,
for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world..."
I know God hears and listens to me. He has showed me in many MANY different ways!
From kind words, to text messages, to HIS WORD, His creation....
He "pays attention" to me.
He loves me.
And He calls me His own!
I am His!
I BELONG to Him!!!
I am fufilled in Him
I can lay all I have and all I am before Him and I can give myself up to His mercy
and He will love me.
He will not reject me.
He does not reject me.
He loves me.
He wants me.
Wow.
"Thank you, God." Is NOT enough. Not at all....
