No Busy Signal
I had an early morning workout at the fitness center which went well. I rode my bike to and from my workout which gave me some extra exercise. I then attended a monthly ministers meeting and over did the barbecue, but it was good.
This evening I am attending and speaking at the Northern Colorado Rehabilitation Hospital 10th Anniversary. This was my home for 100 days in 2013 and 10 days in 2014 as well as six months of outpatient visits. The staff has continued to be supportive and encouraging in my ongoing recovery. My niece Kate Summers who is an Occupational Therapist intern at St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood came up to join us for the event and a tour of the hospital.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “They will call to me, and I will answer them. I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue them and honor them.” Psalm 91:15
Missionaries have a difficult time getting pastors to return their calls. Citizens call their legislators and sometimes don’t get the response they would hope for. Parents call their children and don’t hear back and children call their parents and don’t find them available. I recently call a legislator friend and found that I couldn’t even leave a message because his inbox was full.
I am thankful in spite of all the human frustrations that there can be in making contact with someone we love, or someone we need help from that we don’t need to experience that with the Lord. As least three well-known verses of the Old Testament reveal a God who invites us to call and a promised response. In addition to the verse above we read in Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” We read in Psalm 50:15 “…call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
In the New Testament Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:7) James said, “…You do not have because you do not ask God.” (James 4:2) Psalm 34:5 gives the assurance, “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry…”
When we call on the Lord we have the assurance that He hears us and that He will act in our behalf. In the context of Matthew 7:7 the verb tense communicates the invitation to, “ask and keep on asking….knock and keep knocking….seek and keep seeking.” As we ask the Lord for His help, we need to continue to seek the Lord for His provision and wisdom.
Asking is a key receiving the promises of Psalm 91:1,2, “Those who go to God Most High for safety will be protected by the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “You are my place of safety and protection. You are my God and I trust you.”
While we rest secure in the Lord’s protection and presence, we can ask Him for what we need. Not out of selfish motivation or a sense of manipulation, but from a sense of confidence that He is available and invites us to simply “call on Him.”