Is your marriage suffering from leaking pipes? Your career shooting sparks? Your finances displaying a noticeable limp? Your spiritual life broken down at the side of the road?
There is no better “911″ call than prayer with God, and it’s a number which is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But do you sometimes worry whether the ambulance will ever arrive?
Most of us are good about asking God for help with our life challenges. Unfortunately, we frequently approach it as if we’re ordering through a drive-through window at a fast food restaurant.
“God. I’ve got some bills to pay. We’ve got health issues. Our kids are in a mess. So I’d like to go ahead and order the Happy Meal. Oh yes…and while you’re at it, why don’t you go ahead and throw an apple turnover on the side.”
The Great Physician in our lives knows what is best for us, and oftentimes His answers are much different than those we’re seeking. We want instant relief but He’s always got our life purpose and long-term spiritual health in mind.
“Michael. It’s been so long since I’ve heard from you. It’s wonderful to hear your voice.”
“Yes. And it’s great to hear your voice as well. Should I go ahead and pull up to the next window? We’re getting hungry here and we’re in a bit of a rush. You know. Life and all.”
We want all of the pain to go away, for our flat tire to be fixed and to be on our own way again. But God heals in profound ways.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
All right. We get it. God’s way is not our way. So how does He go about solving our problems and easing our worries?
Well…the same way He always has.
- When we needed to be saved God sent the person of Jesus Christ.
- When Moses was fearful of speaking God offered up Aaron.
- When David felt alone in the world God provided Jonathan.
- When Ruth and Naomi were struggling God introduced Boaz.
- When Paul needed encouragement Barnabas was there to provide it.
The Bible is a book about relationships. It’s about our relationship with God and the relationships between His people.
God’s solutions in our lives come through relationships.
That anonymous check we received? It came through a person. That job we got? We were hired by a person. That encouraging word when we needed it most? That came from a person.
Forgiveness. Grace. Mentoring. Empathy. Consoling. Compassion. Accountability. These come from others in our lives.
Although we spend most of our time worrying about the things of this world, God’s primary concern is our heart for Him and our heart for others.
If we are not careful, we can find ourselves shaking our fists in anger at the Heavens for our misfortunes rather than rejoicing in the riches of the relationships around us.
In the same way, we should strive to be used by God in the service to others. In His name it’s an honor and privilege for us to provide hope and relief.
Those “911″ calls are fine. God will always answer the phone and be polite.
But we might try starting off our prayer time by thanking Him for all of the people He’s brought into our life. Both those who give us grace and those who need it.
Who knows? We might just find ourselves forgetting what we were calling about in the first place.
Looking for more from Michael K Reynolds? You might also enjoy What God Hates Most of All.
Michael K. Reynolds is the author of the acclaimed Heirs of Ireland Series, historical novels set in the late 19th century. He is the producer of Crystal Darkness, an Emmy-Award winning series of anti-meth documentaries and was named as one of the 25 most influential Christians on Twitter. You can learn more at MichaelKReynolds.com.
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