He is Here

A few days ago, I went to the park with a few of my younger cousins and my grandparents. It's this cute little park that has a big fountain for the kids to play in. They absolutely love it. 

As I sat in a chair intently watching my two cousins jump around in the water, another family came to join us   a mother who looked like she had just gotten off work and her two children. Her children promptly ran into the fountain, embracing the cool water on this hot Georgia summer day. The mother went about ten feet away to sit on a bench. She began to check her phone, possibly answering emails or maybe just checking Facebook. The two kids stood at the edge of the fountain, calling out to their mother, wanting her to watch them run through the fountain that is like a skyscraper to a little kid. But the mother didn't look up. They called again and again; eventually, the mother heard them and looked up from her phone. One of her kids said, with the biggest smile on his face, "Watch this!" The mother sat at the bench and said, "Hold on. One minute." She looked back down at her phone. The kids waited. After a minute or two, the mother got up from the bench, and she lovingly watched her joyful children.

Sometimes I feel like the kids.

I call out to God, and I feel like he can't hear me. But the difference between the mother in the story and our God is that God does hear us. He hears us even when we don't necessarily want Him to. 

1 John 5:14 says, "And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him." 

Psalm 34:17 says, "The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles." 

The Lord does hear you. He hears me. But just like the mother told her children to wait, we might have to wait for something from God. Just because He calls us to wait does not mean He doesn't hear our request or our cry out to Him. In fact, the Bible says that those who wait on Him are blessed. 

Isaiah 30:18 says, "So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help." 

When waiting for the Lord, we must be patient like the children of the mother were. Our attitudes should be directed by the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Patience is key when waiting on the Lord.

Sometimes I feel like the mother.

The Lord calls out to me, but I am too occupied to hear. I get distracted easily, diverting my attention from the Lord and what he has to say to me. He wants me to be still to experience His presence. 

Check out Luke 10:38-42. 

To summarize this short story, Jesus visits two sisters. Their names are Mary and Martha. As soon as Jesus enters their door, Mary is at His feet, listening to what He taught. Her sister had a very different response to Jesus' presence.

Verse 40 says, "But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing." 

Distracted. That word definitely describes people today. Just like the mother at the park was too distracted from her phone to hear from her kids, we too get too distracted to hear from God. Social media, technology, clothes, and pretty much anything else tries to grab our attention these days. These things may not be particularly bad, but compared to Jesus we shouldn't be so occupied with these distractions that we do not lose our eagerness to sit at His feet. 

Jesus says in verse 42, "There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." 

Let us be more like Mary   eager to hear from the Lord and experience Him   in this world that calls us to be more like Martha.

~em