All I have to say about the last few weeks is God is faithful. Read on.

Can you hear me now?

Yet he took note of their distress

    when he heard their cry;Psalms 106:44

Technology is a blessing, and a curse. We have access to vast amounts of information, provided we can access it. We can contact anyone at anytime, yet we spend less time communicating with each other. We have internet friends, but we are desperately lonely. There are glitches and hitches involved in the technology. One weekend we went to a retreat off the beaten path. I looked out and saw my friend walking around in a circle outside. I didn’t see her phone in her hand and wondered what she was doing. When I asked, she pointed to a stick stuck in the ground and said that was the only place in camp that she could get cell phone signal and she was trying to call home.

                Do you feel that way trying to communicate with God? Whether you are trying to pray or meditate, do you feel that you have lost signal? Maybe you feel that you have to go through elaborate rituals to have your prayers answered or have to check all the boxes. Maybe you feel that you have to follow the rules and say the words right for God to hear you. Maybe you just can’t think of what to say to God, especially if you are upset. Sometimes it is easy to feel that we can’t hear what God is telling us. Back the technology train up and think back to walkie-talkies. If you were talking and had your button pushed down, you could not hear if the other person was talking to you. This may be one part of our problem with God. We tend to not be very good at being still and listening.

                The last two weeks were really hard for me. I had battles on several different fronts and I was tired of fighting. I asked God to fight for me and he kept sending me verses like  Be still and know that I am God (Psalms 46:10) and Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31.) I was looking for the ones like strike my enemies in the teeth.  (Still haven’t found that one but I know it is in Psalms.) We quote Jeremiah 29:11-13 a lot and it is true that God has plans for us that are to give us a future and a hope, and plans for welfare and not for calamity, but the rest of the passage is just as important. It reads, you will come and call to me and I will answer you. You well seek me and find me when you search with all your heart.  We read in Psalms     I cried to the Lord in my distress and he answered me. Psalms 106:44. He hears us. He answers us. He tells us to come boldly before the throne of Grace that we may find help in our time of need. Because of the sacrifice that Jesus made, we have access to God and his mercy and his provision. No passwords, no complicated formulas and fear. Can you hear Him now?