Unanswered
I will not listen when they call to me
in the time of their distress.
Jeremiah 11:14
“I’m sorry, Gail, I just can’t
help you out right now. I’m in the middle of something that can’t
be postponed,” Garret said and hung up the phone.
He’d just refused to listen to a
request for assistance knowing full well the Holy Spirit was asking
him to help meet this need. True, he was busy, but now he was so
overcome with the weight of his decision that he couldn’t focus on
the project he was working on. He might as well have answered the
call and avoided the pain of knowing he had failed to be used for
God’s purpose because of what he perceived to be an inconvenience.
Garrett felt convicted, and distanced
from God. He knew he’d placed his personal comfort ahead of God’s
request. He asked forgiveness, knowing he was covered under the blood
of Christ, but right now he didn’t feel so good about himself.
Calling Gail back, Garrett asked, “Has
the need you called about been met, Gail?”
“Yes, it has. Bruce was able to drive
the man to his doctor’s appointment. But thanks for calling back,”
she said sweetly, and hung up. Her gracious attitude made his poor
choice even more painful.
†
What Garrett had done wasn’t a
heinous crime, but he knew he had made the wrong choice. And it had
affected his relationship with God immediately.
And so it is when we know we’ve
refused the Lord. Personal comfort can cause us to miss divine
appointments. We’ve all known the heaviness of letting an
opportunity slip away because we were just too busy, or the timing
wasn’t right; we know we missed it by refusing to participate in
something orchestrated by God on behalf of someone in need.
Many times throughout our lives we have
been on the receiving end of God’s intervention, yet fail to
remember those times when our call comes.
Before we miss yet another opportunity,
remember that God wants to bless us, and others, through our
obedience.
What if, in our distress, our call went
unanswered because God refused to listen?
Prayer
“Lord, give me a heart
that yields completely to You. Help me put to death the self that
hinders our relationship. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
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