The God who listens . . .

Dear friends and faithful prayer partners,

Psalms 88 and the Book of Esther have always fascinated me.

The Book of Esther as you know does not mention the name God once, so you are left with only an assumption that He is there behind the scene pulling on the strings of history.

Psalm 88, however, leaves you with frustration that He’s not pulling the strings at all. You are just left there alone to dangle.

Below are a few verses of that psalm that captures the essence of this one sided dialogue. (Yes, I know that that is an oxymoron; how can a dialogue be a dialogue and be one sided? Well, after you read these verses I will suggest why it is.) 

Here are the verses:

1 Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.2 May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry.3 I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death.5 I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.6 You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.8 . . . I am confined and cannot escape;9     my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, Lord, every day; I spread out my hands to you.13 . . . I cry to you for help, Lord; in the morning my prayer comes before you.14 Why, Lord, do you reject me and hide your face from me?16 Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me.17 All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me.18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor— darkness is my closest friend.

Some pretty straightforward talk here. The psalmist is not only bearing his soul but he is letting God have it with both barrels. Read it, he blames God for not showing up when he needed Him and furthermore he accuses God of getting him in the mess he is in. 

Now, if you come from the religious tradition I was raised in that is one of the things that you just do not do—that is talk back to God and blame Him for your troubles. You might think it but you sure wouldn’t publish it. However, talking back to God is precisely what this psalmist did. 

And, what does God do? Nothing. God just listens. 

Now, let’s fast forward to today. What’s your beef? An incurable disease? Or is it financial problems? Maybe a cheating husband or wife? It could be a child that has gone bad. Whatever it is, Psalms 88 is a good example of a listening God, and The Book of Esther let’s us know that He is working behind the scenes to work out His purposes in our life. 

That is not to say that we don’t suffer a whole lot just because we are creatures living in a hostile environment. The world is fallen. Evil. Under the almost overwhelming influence of the old Devil himself. He does walk around like a roaring lion in places like Afghanistan and the streets of Chicago, and in the very city where you live. He’s there. We cannot deny that. 

But, I can assure you God is listening and working to fulfill His purposes. How can I be so sure. Well, that’s easy—it’s all because of Calvary. 

Calvary assures me that God was listening, and the Resurrection assures me that He is working, as it were, behind the scenes to accomplish his purposes in my life. 

The Pietà by Michelangelo I feel captures the essence of Calvary. So at the risk of you thinking that I have suddenly become Catholic I am suggesting that you click onto the image above and watch the short video about this marvelous sculptor. Listen to the commentary. It is moving. 

So, yes, I can say, without hesitation that Calvary tells me that God is listening and that He cares enough to identify with us in our suffering. He is there and He is not silent. 

So, let’s make it a habit to listen to Him also.  

Yours For A Greater End Time Harvest,
 


Jim M. Roane
P.S. Continue to pray for our ministry in the former Soviet Union and in Southern Asia.

What We're Doing

Teaching in Sri Lanka and Russia
What We Need
We must pay for all travel expenses, room and board in route.
This amounts to:

Sri Lanka—$3,449 for travel and other incidental expenses
Russia—$1,900 in travel expenses while in the former Soviet Union
Total $5,349 covers the primary costs.

---

Please keep in mind that we minister entirely by faith.
We are not underwritten by any church or organization.

Also, remember to enter:
Code: 09 for Personal Expenses
or Code 40 for Work Expenses
 Thanks!