Craig Clouston

 

Unanswered

June 11

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.”