23

Jump Start # 1438

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1438

Luke 12:18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do:  I will tear down my barns and bulid larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.”

  Our passage today comes from the Lord’s parable of the rich farmer. Jesus told this parable as an illustration against greed and having what seems to be everything but in reality having nothing. Someone had interrupted Jesus and demanded that the Lord settle a family dispute about inheritances. Family issues about money continues today. Much too often, as soon as the funeral of the last parent is over, the kids are running and grabbing stuff that they want. Disputes over who gets what have ruined relationships among siblings.

 

So we are given this parable. The rich farmer had a problem. More crops than room to store them. What a nice problem to have. His solution, tear down the current barns and build larger ones. That would allow him to take ease and enjoy things. His retirement boat was about to dock. Things were all set on paper. That night, the text tells us, that very night, he died. His death was sudden. His death was not expected. He died before the new barns got built. He died before the crops could be stored. He died and left all of it. Many of us have heard preachers point out in this story the number of times the farmer refers to himself. His crops. His barns. His ease. No mention of God. No including God in these plans. No thought about the eternal. It was all me and all now. The Lord pulled the rug and the farmer’s world collapsed. Great lesson.

 

There are many commendable things about this farmer. He obviously understood how to farm. He had an abundance of crops. He knew what he was doing. He wasn’t lazy. He wasn’t expecting others to take care of him. He wasn’t counting upon some wild scheme to get rich. Hard work and steady work made him successful.

 

It is from that thought that we want to explore a thought today. I tend to think many disciples today are like this farmer. We are busy people. We are pouring hours into our jobs. As we are getting older, many of us are working harder and longer. The demands of family add to our busy lifestyles. The kids are involved in sports and it seems there is a practice or a game every weekend. Sleeping in on Saturday just doesn’t happen. Having the kids just go outside and play doesn’t happen. It’s running here and running there. We have spent afternoons watching our grandkids, these little ones are little. But after a few hours of running with them I’m drained. And this is the cost of busy lives. We are tired. We are always tired. Our tanks are empty all the time. I hear folks talking about this all the time. It’s not just young families, it’s middle aged folks who are working all the time. Ask them, ‘How are you doin’?’ and they respond, “Tired,” or, “Busy.”

 

Now, tired and busy are the costs that one pays to be successful and to have our kids excelling, especially in today’s world of sports. Traveling teams do just that, they travel. Tired and busy leads to other things. They lead to being short on patience and stressed. Little things bother us more when we are tired and busy. We tend to snap more at each other. We tend to bark more. Tired and busy does something to our insides as well. We don’t feel peace. We don’t feel calm. Our minds are trying to figure out how we are going to get supper, get to the ballgame, get the yard cut, pay the bills before bedtime. And bedtime doesn’t bring rest. We collapse. We are exhausted. The clock wakes us in the morning for another round of the same stuff. I remember reading a book years ago entitled, “Little House on the Freeway.” That title may seem like the theme of your home.

 

Tied and busy affects us spiritually. We know that. We hate that. I see it. The Wednesday evening Bible class is full of tired adults. Their minds haven’t turned off work yet, they are thinking about tomorrow’s busy day, they are balancing the upcoming weekend schedule and feeling very guilty for not having their Bible lesson completed for the evening. But how? But when? There is a call for volunteers to help. Guilt tells you that you ought to, but when? How? Food needs to be taken to the family who just had a funeral. When? How? You’re not sure how you are going to feed your own family tonight with the crazy schedule going on. The preacher talks about quiet time with God. Oh boy, more guilt. Any quiet time, and our eyes would fall asleep. We sometimes fight that in church services. We are on the go so much, that sitting still doesn’t happen. At home, we are asleep on the coach before a movie is even half over. Tired and busy.

 

For young parents, the dream is when the kids are post high school, things will slow down. It usually doesn’t. It is at that period in life that work really becomes demanding. Then it’s visiting the kids. Just as busy. Just as tired. Nothing changes. The dream shifts to retirement. If we can hang on until we retire, then things will slow down. But a look at the retirement funds and that looks a long way off. The busy farmer becomes our story. We never saw ourselves living like him. He had no time for God, but then, what has happened to us? He was looking to the future so he could slow down and relax. And there we are with the same thoughts. We never thought that we would be so similar to that farmer.

 

And sadly, for some, what happened to the farmer is what happened to them. God called them. God called them before their dreams were realized. God called them in the middle of their busy and tired lifestyles. God called them before they were ready.

 

I expect many of you reading this today, are thinking, “Yep, that’s our family—tired and busy.” Most of us can identify the problem. We even see what it’s doing to us. What we want is help. What we want is a solution. What we want is a couple of weeks in Hawaii, which isn’t going to happen.

 

The solution is before us, but many of us simply do not want to do it. It means pulling the plug on some things. It means taking the foot off the accelerator of life. So your kids are not in every season of sports. It’s not the end of the world. So it means they may not make varsity. So it means they may not play college sports. Few do. Which is more important to you? Keeping this break neck pace or allowing your kid to actually be a kid. And the folks at work want you to believe that your job is your life. No it’s not. Within a week after you have quit, retired or died, you will be replaced. This is even true of most preachers. Even as preachers, busy and tired affects us. I know. I am the poster child of what I have written today. I keep taking on more projects, doing more things, never saying “no.” There is a price to all of us.

 

So, catch your breath. Find moments to relax. Use driving time to pray. Connect with the Lord and include Him in what you are doing. Have a meal together as a family as often as you can. When you do, leave the phones elsewhere. Talk. Laugh. Share. Connect. Dump the guilt and see church services as a spiritual oasis. Recharge your spiritual battery. Do what you can. No one can do it all. Get your priorities lined up. Like a monthly budget, go over your schedule the same way. Drop what can be dropped. Rearrange things to be more efficient. Rest when you can rest. Remember what is most important.

 

I’ve mentioned this week an incredible funeral I participated in on Monday. Most thought, including the staff at the funeral home, a Monday morning funeral will not be attended very well. Folks work. The place was packed. Chairs were put out more than once. The line was so long that we delayed the start of the service. Busy people came. Impressive. Off the charts. Unbelievable. People worked it out to be there. It was an illustration of people who put relationships first. It was moving, touching and very helpful to this dear family. Now, you are reading this and may think, we’ll I just couldn’t do that. They did. It wasn’t just stay-at-home moms and retired folks at this funeral. There were tons of working people. Some took off part of the day. Some were using their lunch time. They saw the importance and they made it work. That’s what we have to do. There are times when we need to be there for others. There are times when we must work magic to get to the church house on time, but we’ll do that.

Don’t allow tired and busy to keep you from doing what is most important. Don’t allow tired and busy to keep you from letting your light shine and especially from keeping you from God.

Busy and tired are not excuses. We’ve allowed ourselves to become this way. If it’s not working, fix it. Don’t die like this pitiful farmer in Jesus’ story. Don’t let his story become your story.

The Psalmist wrote, “Be still and know that I am God.” Be still. That’s needed on the insides of us as well as the outsides of us.

Roger

 

22

Jump Start # 1437

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1437

1 Corinthians 15:57 “but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

  There are many things that a person is thankful for. Come November, we set aside one day especially for thanks, we call it Thanksgiving. It has turned into a day of feasting, family and football. The “thanks” part has be limited to a few sentences uttered before we stuff ourselves. But for the soul that is walking with God, there are many things he is thankful for, throughout the day and throughout his life. At first, it seems that our thanking is focused upon the simple and obvious things such as a new day, the food we eat, enjoyable moments. As our faith grows, our reflections, observations and introspections also grow. We become thankful for a mate that loves us. We look around and become thankful for godly friends who have touched our lives. Growing more, we realize that there have been teachable moments that have changed us and molded us and we become thankful for those.

 

Our verse, concluding a long section about the resurrection and especially the resurrection of Jesus, reminds us of the great spiritual thanks that we owe to God for Jesus. Not only did He save us by forgiving us, our future is changed as we shall all be resurrected on the last day.

 

I thought about that yesterday. I stood at an open grave. A casket was ready to be lowered into it as soon as we all left. It was a funeral. What a day. Huge crowd. More chairs had to be put out. We had to delay the start because of the long line of people wanting to talk to the family. The singing was amazing. I spoke. I read one of these Jump Starts. We prayed. We laughed. We hugged. We cried. It was a trip down memory lane for me. There were so many people that I had not seen in years, for some, decades. My kids were there. My dad was there. It was something. But then we got into our cars and drove out to that spot in the cemetery where we were going to leave the casket that carried one that we loved so dearly. That moment is always hard. It was here that this passage came to my mind. The grave would be closed, but someday, when the Lord returns, there would be a resurrection.

 

Have you ever thought about all the resurrections in the Bible? We remember some of them. Lazarus, Jesus’ friend came out when Jesus commanded, “Lazarus, come forth.” The 12 year old daughter of the synagogue official was resurrected before she was even buried. There was an unnamed young man, in a coffin, being carried to the cemetery. Jesus came upon him and stopped the funeral procession. He touched the coffin and the young man was raised. That sure turned that day around.

 

We might get the impression that someone was raised nearly every day, but that’s not the case. There were just a handful of people, all righteous or children, who were ever raised. And the thought we forget about is that each of those that were raised had to later die again. Their souls, safe on the other side, were brought back to this place of struggle, temptation, disease and sorrow. They had to again go through the things that faced before. Back to working for a living. Back to paying bills. Back to having bad days. Back to trying to make the right decisions again. Back to sin. Back to becoming ill again and dying again. Everyone who was ever raised from the dead had to die again! Can you imagine. I wonder after Jesus left Bethany, and around the table sat Mary, Martha and the newly raised Lazarus, no longer sickly, no longer near death. Back. Alive. Well. The Bible never tells us what he heard, saw or felt. God didn’t want us to know. I just wonder what that private conversation was about. I just wonder if he looked at his sisters and said, “Why did you cry so much? Why did you make such a commotion? I was there. It was wonderful. It’s amazing. I didn’t want to leave. Why did I have to come back?”

 

Jesus, however was the first to be raised that never died again. This is why He is referred to as the first fruits. He was the first. Raised to never die again. We will follow. Not now. But in time, on resurrection day, we will be raised and never again die. That is the victory Paul is speaking about. Until Jesus, everyone who died, seemed to be locked in a prison of death. Not now. Not because of Jesus. Forgiveness, grace has opened that door. There is something better than this life. There is something still to come. There is something great awaiting us. That powerful hymn, “Up from the grave He arose,” echoes these strong Biblical truths.

 

The grave closes and a darkness fills our heart. I like cemeteries, especially old ones. My kids have experienced me pulling the car to the side of some country road and seeing dad heading off across the field to go look at some old cemetery on top of a hill. When our kids were learning to drive, we often took them to practice in city cemeteries. There’s little traffic, a lot of narrow roads and turns which would help them and I told them if they crashed, I’d just open the door and roll them out. I’ve been to some small towns where it seems that there were more people buried in the cemetery than were living. Just think, all those graves opening up. Raised to never die again.

 

This passage tells us that Satan loses. He must have thought that Jesus dying on the cross was his victory. It wasn’t. It wasn’t by his design, but rather God’s design. Raised to never die again.

 

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory. We like victories. I check the scoreboard often for my favorite teams. In baseball, the Dodgers are at the top. In football, my Purdue is at the bottom. We like victories. We like them in sports. We cherish them when dealing with cancer. It’s encouraging to hear of someone who has beaten the bottle or has overcome long addictions. But the greatest victory is over Satan. The greatest victory is being raised to never die again. This victory belongs to God but we have a part in it. We must be among the righteous. We must walk daily with our Lord. We must choose to be on the side that wins.

 

Thanks be to God. Closed graves will one day be opened. Closed by man. Closed by Satan. Opened by God. Opened and never to be closed again!

 

Roger

 

21

Jump Start # 1436

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1436

Romans 14:13 “Let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.”

  Stop judging—that’s the gist of this passage. We know very well the Lord’s words, “Judge not, lest you be judged” (Mt 7:1). Some only know that one verse. Others believe it’s the most important verse in the Bible. Most define Christianity by whether a person judges or not.

 

First, we are supposed to judge. That is surprising for most folks to know. Without judging, how else would fellowship be determined, or a false teacher known? The only way to distinguish a wolf in sheep’s clothing from a true lamb is by making a judgment. Judging hypocritically, judging only by appearance, or simply being overly critical, riding the back of someone is neither nice nor Biblical.

 

The Roman passage, our verse today, is found layered in the discussion of eating meats. This had nothing to do with diet, health reasons, but spiritual concerns. The meats at the market had been sacrificed to idols. If a person ate that meat, were they condoning idolatry? Should they or should they not eat those meats? Instead of each person trying to work through this difficult maze of principles, they were pointing fingers at others. Judging others had taken over. The meat eaters were being condemned for supporting idols. The veggie folks were being condemned for being too narrow. A lot of fussing was going on. It was boiling and what generally and much too often happens, is that the lid blows. A split takes place. The veggie folks pull out and start their own church, declaring that the meat eaters were wrong. The meat eaters pointed fingers at the others as being trouble makers. Trouble was coming down the pike.

 

In the context Paul tells us that God has accepted both. It’s not wrong to eat meats. It’s not wrong to abstain from that. Both groups could go to Heaven. In Corinthians, Paul would give some practical help from Heaven about how to deal with the different things that came up. But here, for now, the word is to accept each other because God has accepted them both. If one was wrong, then repentance would be the call. But, it’s not. So our verse, “let us not judge one another anymore…” This is directed to those within a congregation. This is directed toward a subject which is neither right nor wrong. When folks lift verses out of context, they misunderstand and misuse what God intended. This is not a one size fits all command for every situation in life. This verse is not the Swiss Army knife of the Bible, that is able to cover everything that one may face. This verse takes place between Christians. They happen to be in the same congregation. They are disagreeing about something God has not said was wrong. That context is essential to understanding the passage.

 

This, “let us not judge one another” stuff is hard. We learn something about someone, especially if it is negative, and that seems to taint us for life. We have a hard time moving past that. Every time that person’s name is mentioned, we immediately think of the negative about them. Folks who have messed up morally, preachers who have failed, elders who have tripped— they may have asked for forgiveness, but we just can’t seem to let it go. I’ve known men who left religious error decades ago, yet when someone suggests their name as a possible shepherd, that reminder surfaces again. Trust is questioned, even though it has been decades since he embraced the error. We just can’t let some things go.

 

I’m working on this myself. It’s hard. There is a popular religious writer who is very radical, but loved by many people. When I see fellow preachers praising his books, the red flags go up, the warning sounds and I find myself ready to point that finger of mine. I’m more bothered by the way I respond than what these others are praising. I don’t want to be so critical and judgmental. Fault finding has become a fever with some. It’s like the old gold rush in the 1800’s. Everyone starts looking. Everyone sees what they think is gold. There was a lot of “fool’s gold” back then and there still is today. We jump on the band wagon of condemning one of our own instead of hearing things from his perspective. We’d rather toss him out, vote him off the island and be done with him, than to sit down and find out that there’s really nothing wrong with what he is doing. Different isn’t always wrong. My way isn’t always right. It’s God that is always right.

 

Judge not—that would be tough for the veggie folks in Rome. They just knew that the meat eaters were leaning toward paganism. Some probably manufactured and speculated that those meat eaters were bowing down to idols. That wasn’t happening. What they were doing wasn’t wrong. This tells us that because I think something is wrong does not mean that it is. Because I think something is sinful doesn’t mean that it is. Only God can declare what is right and wrong. I listened to a guy recently blow a gasket about women wearing pants to services. He was from the old school and I guess women only wore dresses there. He was not only declaring that it was wrong and sinful, he felt compelled to compel me to preach about it. I asked him how come it’s ok for guys to wear pants? Back in Bible times, everyone wore robes. He’d never thought about that. He looked at me as if I just landed from Mars. He walked away disgusted because I wouldn’t run up the hill waving his banner. What about suit jackets? What about ties? What about wild colored socks (now we are getting close to home with me)? Each of us must work out our own salvation but we must be careful not to define things, draw lines, and point fingers at things that are not wrong. We can sure make a mess out of things. We put so much energy into finger pointing that we often forget who the enemy is. We are in a fellowship together. We need to help each other. We need to be there for each other. When wrong, with the Bible opened, we need to gently show each other.

 

The worst part of judging is that it leads us to deciding who is going to be in Heaven and who is going to be in Hell. That is God’s prerogative and exclusive right, not ours. Judging sours our spirit and can turn us into an ugly person, from the inside out. We ought to quit trying to assign people to Hell and start preaching Heaven to folks.

 

Stop the judging of one another. We preachers can be pretty good at judging. We hand out guilt every Sunday from where a person sits, to how loud they are singing, to how well the song leader does his job. Sometimes I wonder if the only thing we know is how to give out guilt. Stop the judging of one another. Hold the mirror up and take a deep look at what you see. If we spent as much time on ourselves as we do others, things would turn around pretty good.

 

Take a deep breath—put your hand in your pocket and count your blessings. Be thankful that there are others. Be thankful that God includes you in His fellowship. Work more on self and rejoice with others.

This is tough stuff…but you can do it. God’s counting on you…

 

Roger

 

18

Jump Start # 1435

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1435

Luke 16:22 “Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died.”

  A friend died yesterday morning. He had a long battle with cancer. He was much too young to die, not yet fifty years old. I have known his family for a long time. His family and my family had many ties. His grandmother was one of my first Bible class teachers. His mother and step father are some of the dearest friends we have. I baptized his wife along time ago. More than that, I preformed his wedding ceremony. When his oldest daughter was born, my wife was the nurse in the room. At the urging of my wife, our youngest son met his daughter. They were married last October. He was able to walk her down the isle and even gave a wonderful speech at the reception. Today, word came from my son, that he had passed on. He was a believer. Quiet in nature, he was strong in both muscle and spirit. He had a kind smile, a warm heart and was loyal as a friend to the core. He wasn’t one that lit the room up when he walked in. You wouldn’t find him behind the pulpit pounding out lessons. He wasn’t one to lead singing. That wasn’t his way. But he was consistent. He could be counted upon. His kind are many in the kingdom. They march with the Lord. His sweet wife is a pillar of strength. Her devotion and care through this long journey caught the attention of everyone and I suspect even Heaven. His two wonderful daughters love the Lord and walk in His ways.

 

This passage came to my mind when I heard of his passing. I’ve thought about this verse often. I find myself thinking about it more and more. It’s not the angels carrying Lazarus, I believe that happens. It’s not that the righteous die, we know that. This verse takes me to the moment of death. That sweet and special moment when the righteous have breathed their last. The journey here comes to an end. We know that their life hasn’t really ended. Luke 16 shows that. There is no “The End” to our story. Our journey doesn’t end at the cemetery, it ends with God. What I wonder about are those first few moments. The eye closes, the last breath is exhaled, the heart stops. On this side of things, our tears flow. They are gone we say. But it’s the other side that brings wonderment to me. The eyes open in Paradise and what a wonderful world they must see. They must feel great. The pains of this life stay here. The problems of this life stay here. The sickness gone. The disease defeated. For the righteous, what a wonderful thought, to open our eyes on the other side and to see the beauty of God’s creation on that side of things. Movies are still being released about folks who claimed that they were killed, went to Heaven, saw and heard things and then came back to tell of their experiences. They write books and now make movies. All those things are bogus. There are too many Biblical problems with those fanciful ideas. I don’t need a modern story to convince me. I have the old, old story.

 

But just think, your eyes open, and there you are. Can you imagine who you might see? Now some folks will always ask, “Do you think we will know each other in Heaven?” Just think about that question for a moment. Do you think that God will place us with thousands of strangers for eternity. How comforting would that be? Are you kidding? No way. Absolutely we will know each other. Lazarus, Abraham, the rich man—they each had their identity. How come the rich man didn’t call Abraham, “Moses?” Why didn’t he call him, “Noah?” Somehow he knew. I don’t know how and the how doesn’t bother me. We will. So move on with that thought. Your eyes open and there is Abraham, Moses and Noah. There are the righteous that you knew from a long time ago. I look forward to opening my eyes and seeing my mom again. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her. I want to see Robert Jackson. He was one of my heroes when I was a young preacher. I want to tell him, “Thank you.” I want to see some of those restoration preachers I have read about all of my life. Our eyes open to a wonderful place.

 

I wonder if there will be music in on the other side? I tend to think God likes music. He’s always included it in His worship. The little bird can sure sing in the mornings. The wind coming through the trees makes it’s own music. I don’t know if there’s music, but I’d like to think so.

 

I expect things will be colorful over there. God sure likes color. I tend to think that green is one of his favorite colors. There are so many shades of green and green is everywhere. Those that know me, know that I love color, from bright ties to wild socks, the more the better. We have so much color here, I just hope there is color over there. Just imagine how pretty everything will be. It will be perfect. There won’t be any liter, pollution, trash or graffiti on the other side. Pure. Spotless. Shiny. Bright. That’s how I expect it will be.

 

I wonder what it will smell like over there. Have you ever thought about that? We have all kinds of smells here. Some good, some not so good. Flowers, new mown lawns, spring rain, fresh bread—great smells. Will there be smells on the other side? I don’t know. I sure hope so.

 

Most of all, imagine opening your eyes are realizing that you made it. You are where you are supposed to be. You are where God wants you to be. The race over. The battle finished. The course completed. God’s child home. Safe. Never to fear again. Never to hurt again. Never to be tempted again. Never to shed a tear again. Never to worry again. Never to have to say “I’m sorry” again. Never to be rushed again. Never to have to go somewhere else. Never to doubt again. Never to feel disappointed again. Never lonely. Never to fight with Satan again. Home. Safe. Sure. The “well done” spoken by the Lord. This is where the journey takes us. This is what we are after. This is why we worship each week. This is why we choose what is right. This is why we cling to the Lord. This is why God’s way has become our way. This is why you can’t budge us away from the Cross. A crown. A victory. A home. Paul told the Philippians that death is a gain. We understand that in theory, but the day our eyes open up on the other side we will understand it completely.

 

I will be preaching the funeral for my friend in a few days. I looked and found the wedding ceremony I used for his wedding a long time ago. I may read some of that. It’s been several years but it is fitting.

 

A journey completed. Eyes opened on the other side. I wish I could have been there to see that look on his face. I look forward to seeing him again, on the other side, when my eyes open there.

 

Thank you, Jeff. Thank you, Lord. It is because of you all of this is possible.

 

Roger

 

 

 

17

Jump Start # 1434

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 1434

2 Kings 20:5 “Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father, David, ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.”

  Hezekiah, one of the few good kings of Judah became ill. He had been a marvelous king. He purged the nation of the idols his father had built. He restored the Passover. He was one of the original restorers. He trusted in the Lord and clung to the Lord. But word came from Isaiah the prophet that he was going to die. “Set your house in order,” were the words from the prophet.

Immediately, Hezekiah turned to the wall and prayed. Our passage shows God’s answer to his prayer.

A few thoughts here:

 

1. We would do well if we turned to the wall more and less to Facebook, friends or other things. The word Hezekiah received was the absolute worst anyone could ever hear. Even when doctors reach their limit and they declare that there is no more that can be done, the God option is always there. One can always pray to God. However, when the Lord tells you that you are going to die, there is no one above God. There is no one else to pray to. Hezekiah didn’t get angry with the Lord. He didn’t run and find his family. He didn’t curse. He turned to the wall and prayed.

 

2. What Hezekiah prayed was remarkable. He asked the Lord to “Remember.” His prayer was, “Remember now, O Lord, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” Remember. He didn’t say, “Forget all the wrong things I did.” He didn’t say, “I repent.” He said, “Remember.” This is how Nehemiah ends his book, “Remember me for good.” For the Lord to remember, there must be something there to remember. Hezekiah had walked in such a way that there were things to remember. He rallied the people back to God. When the Assyrians were about to invade, it was to God that he took the nation. And now, at the moment of a personal battle, Hezekiah doesn’t ask God to remove the illness. He doesn’t ask for more years. His prayer is, “Remember…”

 

3. Before Isaiah the prophet left the palace compound, our verse takes place. God turned the prophet around and sent him back to Hezekiah. The word was, “I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears.” God extended Hezekiah’s life 15 years.

 

This is impressive to us. Hezekiah got an answer to his prayer faster than some of us get a reply to our email. Prayers don’t take days to be answered. God heard and God acted. He acted very quickly. God saw the tears of the king. Sometimes we may think that no one knows nor understands what we are going through. The elderly saint in a nursing home who is alone most of the time…the family that holds a vigil over a dying parent…a young couple who are wanting to have a baby but can’t…a young man who is looking for a better job…an older preacher who is no longer needed nor wanted by a congregation…a family that has a prodigal that will not come back…each of these real situations. I could put names to each of these. Each, causing tears at night among God’s people. Tears that the Lord sees. Tears that have been shed for a long while. For some, it seems that they can’t cry anymore, but they do. For the rest of us, life goes on. The sun shines, the birds sing, and it’s just another day for us. But to those with the tears, the pain and nightmare never seems to end. God knows. God sees. God cares.

 

There are three answers to our prayers to God. First, like Hezekiah, the answer may be “yes.” That answer may come quickly as it did for Hezekiah, or it may take some time. Another answer is “No.” No is an answer. It’s hard to understand why God says NO. It’s hard to take. God sees things we never do. God has plans and a will that involves the spiritual that we often forget about. Our character, our souls and our salvation is much more important than our wellbeing or our happiness. If the journey takes us through dark valleys of death, and that process shapes us and makes us a better people, then it was well worth it. We struggle with that. We want God to remove problems. We want God to make things better. God may be interested in us becoming better.

 

Then there is the third answer to our prayers, “In His time.” God’s not on a schedule like we are. In His time, is what Abraham had to understand. Why we wait, thinking God is not doing anything or that He didn’t hear us, or that our prayer wasn’t good enough, God is just waiting. He knows what is coming and we don’t. He sees everything and we only see our little space. God sees the future and we see today. In His time…

 

The fifteen years that God gave Hezekiah got the king in trouble. He showed off the treasures of Judah to visitors from Babylon. His pride got the best of him. The prophet revealed that the Babylonians would later come and take all that treasure. And they did.

 

God hears your prayers. God sees your tears. God knows. Trust Him. Love Him. Cling to Him, even in those dark hours when it seems you are all alone. God is there. May He help you.

 

Roger