When God Speaks

Child of God, you have the attention of Jesus.  He knows everything going on in your life.  He is familiar with your pain.  Jesus' love, compassion, and grace are immensely personal.  He is committed to meeting the deepest needs of your heart in the middle of your struggle.  ~David Platt

My pastor paused in the middle of his sermon on Sunday to speak these words to the church.  I'm sure God led him to say them, and I'm sure there were many in such a large crowd who needed to hear them.  But then God did something for me that I pray I never forget.  He proved them true. 

Without going into any details, the past week has been one that, apart from the tender mercies of God, should have been one of the worst weeks of my life.  I spent a significant portion of Saturday dumping out my anger, hurt, and confusion before Him. He had orchestrated the events of the week and allowed me a front-row seat as He answered so many of my prayers.  But His answers seemed to come at my expense, and the harsh timing left me feeling carelessly used and discarded.  

Ohh, I was mad.  Mostly at Him.  So I told Him.  I sobbed furious tears for quite some time before coming to a place of conceding, I just need to feel You.  I just need to know You care about me too.

The service had just ended on Sunday morning when Anna approached me and said, "I've been praying hard for you this week, Haley.  God really laid you on my heart."  I'm sure the look on my face was one of confusion.  That would have been a perfectly normal thing for a close friend to say after a week like this one.  But I met Anna three weeks ago.  We're in a Bible study together, but we've never had a one-on-one conversation.  She knows very little about me and absolutely nothing about my week.  Certain she just meant she had prayed through the requests I had shared at small group on Tuesday, I asked her to explain.  She said, "No, all week I've been praying for you, and then last night (Saturday), I was in the middle of praying for myself.  God kept interrupting me with Haley...Haley...Haley." 

My jaw dropped. 

He knows.  He hears.  He cares. 

Nothing else matters.

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."  ~Lamentations 3:22-23