God Hears Your Cry

Today the LORD had encouragement for me from the book of Genesis.  The portion I read was when Hagar and Ishmael were sent away by Abraham with bread and a skin of water.  They wandered around in the wilderness of Beersheba until the water was gone.  It says in Genesis 21:15-16, "And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. ¹⁶ Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept."  I will admit this part is not very uplifting.  It is a sad picture of a dying child and a hopeless mother all alone in a wilderness.  Yet it is in the midst of this confronting and tragic scene God graciously revealed Himself.

Hagar placed Ishmael in the shade, a boy of around 13 years old.  Not wanting to see him die of thirst, she separated herself to a distance where she could not hear his whimpering.  It was just too much.  She broke down in tears, wailing for her son and their impossible situation.  Then Genesis 21:17 tells us, "And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is."  Following the flow of the passage this verse is a surprise.  Verse 16 said Hagar lifted her voice and wept, and verse 17 says God heard the voice of the lad.  Hagar distanced herself from the cries of her son, but God heard him right where he was.  Hagar couldn't bear to bring herself to be where Ishmael was because of her inability to help him, but God heard him and would help him.  He opened Hagar's eyes to see a well of water, and she filled the skin with water and gave it to her son.

At times I have been in the sandals of Hagar and Ishmael.  I have felt powerless to help others who are in a perilous and dreadful condition.  I have also felt like everyone is at a distance, unable to help or understand what I was going through.  But even when it seems we are all alone and without hope or help, when we cry to God He will hear us and respond to our cries.  God was a well-spring of life Hagar didn't perceive in her pain, like the well of water which was there from the beginning.  He will provide miraculous salvation and deliverance, for He opens our eyes to His gracious supply.  He also brings other people along to help us in times of trouble, and we too can be useful vessels to share His love with others.  This passage shows us there is always hope for the person who cries out to God.

Psalm 61:1-4 says, "Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. ² From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ³ For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. ⁴ I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah"  Sometimes we can speak or shout and not be heard.  Our words can fall on ears incapable of understanding and people we look to for help are without any power to save us.  Let us ensure we cry out to the LORD in prayer, for He alone is able to deliver.

A New World of Ideas

I kept a few of my university textbooks as reference materials.  One I find particularly interesting is a compilation of Lee A. Jacobus titled, "A World of Ideas:  Essential Readings for College Writers" (Fourth Edition).  It is a smattering of ancient and modern writings which include offerings of Aristotle, Charles Darwin, Thomas Jefferson, Mary Wollstonecraft, Lao-Tzu, Karl Marx, Mary Daly, Plato, and Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha).  The great irony is this "world of ideas" considered essential for the modern writer pass over words spoken by Jesus Christ.  Perhaps the Sermon on the Mount provides too much food for thought.

For a follower of Jesus Christ, this is no surprise.  It can hardly be debated Jesus Christ should be counted among the most influential people in the history of the world and certainly among the most polarising.  He was inclusive and exclusive at the same time.  He bid anyone who was thirsty to come to Him and drink of the Living Water He alone could supply.  He also said things like in Luke 14:26:  "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."  Jesus claimed to be the exclusive Way, the Truth, and the Life - the sole way to eternal life.  Such claims are either the ravings of a madman or the honest truth from One who can provide salvation for all who trust in Him.

I have been convinced by the testimony of scripture Jesus is the only true source of divine spiritual wisdom, and His is wisdom not of this world.  Paul had something to say on this topic in 1 Corinthians 3:18-20, "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness"; ²⁰ and again, "The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."  The primary contrast between all the writings in "A World of Ideas" and the words of Jesus is He makes constant truth claims which require faith and obedience.  He did not care to say deep things but what was, is, and will be true and remain shockingly objective.  The words of Jesus are without apology in our subjective age and are understood fully only by those who believe Him.

The greatest intellects in the world will find themselves quite out of their depth should they dive into the Bible.  A unschooled man filled with the Holy Spirit has more spiritual understanding and acumen than a thousand intellectuals.  This is explained in 1 Corinthians 2:12-15:  "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. ¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one."  The Bible is a book only spiritually discerned by the wisdom of the One who inspired it, the God who gives us Living Water and rest for our souls.

There is an immeasurable amount of facts in this world I am ignorant of, but I have tasted and seen God is good.  Like the man born blind whose eyes were opened by Jesus, I can testify that once I was blind but now I see.  Ideas, theories, and reasoning cannot save anyone, but Jesus Christ can.  Knowing Jesus Christ is the principle thing, and in knowing Him it opens up a new world of understanding beyond this one.

Reasonable Salvation

Today I had the privilege of "staying with the stuff" as a chaperone during a Camp Kedron outing at the beach.  It was cool and overcast, a welcome change from the heat of late.  After a pleasant bushwalk we arrived at Curl Curl to find the beach closed because of strong current.  I noticed a lifesaver (Australian for lifeguard) heading out to the waves for a swim, and it wasn't to cool down on a hot day.  He was checking the conditions of the surf.  It wasn't long before the rip pulled him further and further left, and as a result the beach remained closed after he easily swam back in.  The pros make it look so easy.

I wondered how the lifesaver would have reacted if I waded after him into the rip and grabbed him by the arm to "save" him.  Needless to say it would have been an offensive and unwanted intrusion!  Now if he was a drowning swimmer flailing in the rip and I was a lifesaver, it would have been a totally different situation.  There would be nothing more welcome for someone fighting for life in strong current than a strong saviour.  It reminded me how a person often needs to be at a point of desperation for help before they will gladly accept it.

A person must be convinced of their need for salvation before the Gospel has appeal.  It is the Law of God which reveals the sin which damns us and our inability to meet God's righteous standard.  Even that is not enough for some, as we read in Acts 24:25 concerning Paul's witness to Felix:  "Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you."  Felix trembled at the prospect of judgment, but even his inability to measure up to Christ's standard was not enough for him to humble himself before God or man.  God was calling Felix, but Felix wanted to call Paul when convenient.  A man who believes he is in imminent danger of death now would be ridiculous to ask for a more "convenient" time to be saved when today is the day of salvation.  The sad truth is, deceived and dying men assume they have plenty of time left.  Time usually runs out before such see their need to repent and be born again through faith in Jesus.

In sharing the Gospel with others it is important to do as Paul did - whether people respond in faith or not - and reason (not monologue) concerning righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come.  The righteousness of God is revealed in the Law, our guilt is clear through our lack of self-control, and we are all facing eternal judgment for our sin.  The good seed of God's Word will always bear fruit when it falls upon prepared hearts.  When a man realises his life hangs in the balance it often brings a crucial shift in perspective.  Salvation is never convenient for anyone, but the Gospel is a labour of love both for Christ and His people.  It is the Law and justice of God which reveals God's grace, and the promise of future judgment quickens a man to seek salvation today.

God is Able to Perform

"Persistence pays," people say.  "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again."  The English language is littered with such cliches.  I have found if at first we don't succeed, it is not long before we are looking for a new or different method.  A cricket player will hire a new coach to help his batting, and may even adopt a different stance.  It has also been mused that a definition of insanity is to continue doing the same thing hoping for a different result.  We come closer to the truth when these cliches are combined.  There are fundamental truths which cannot be denied, like a batsman in cricket should bring his bat to the crease.  A batsman cannot bat without it, and a return to basic fundamentals will help him find his way back to top form.

Abram (later called Abraham) had been given a promise by God that through him all nations of the earth would be blessed.  God had promised Abraham his wife Sarai (whom later God named Sarah) would have a son.  The problem was, Sarah had been barren for decades.  I am sure they did what is common for people to do today who struggle to conceive.  Perhaps they ate certain foods or avoided others, choosing particular days to "try" to conceive the baby they desperately wanted.  They did believe God's promise, even when persistence didn't seem to pay the desired dividends.  They tried and tried for years without success.  Finally their patience reached a breaking point in Genesis 16:1-2:  "Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. ²  So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai."

It seems Sarah and Abraham put pressure on themselves to conceive and bear a son.  Their actions showed they did not believe God's promise or agree with His timing.  Abraham listened to the suggestion of his wife and sired a son through Hagar rather than remembering God's promise and doing his part in faith.  Lack of apparent fruitfulness led to Abraham venturing beyond his calling as a husband in order to fulfill their dream of having a son.  I believe this same error can be made in Christian ministry.  God has called us to minister, serve, preach the Word, make disciples of Jesus, and to speak the truth in love.  Because fruitfulness is never immediate - or even seems to persist for years - we can be tempted to depart from God's calling and adopt programs or popular approaches to foster this growth.  Worldly methods may produce what some would call "fruit," but cannot bring the fulfillment of the promises God has made to us.

The passage of time provides a great test of our faith and steadfastness in obedience.  Many start well, but there are few who joyfully finish their race with endurance as Paul did.  It is possible that along the way we will begin to drift from complete reliance on God's Word and the Holy Spirit.  We can think increase depends upon our performance rather than God's grace.  Because our patience has been exhausted in desperation we can take matters into our own hands, willing to try anything to bring about the results we hope for.  Galatians 6:7-10 reads, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. ⁹  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. ¹⁰  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith."

We all have room to mature and grow in faith, taking new ground in obedience to Jesus.  But let us not lose heart because our efforts in ministering unto the LORD do not seem to be having the effect we desire.  Let us heed the command and promise of God, that if we continue to sow the good seed of God's Word we will reap a fruitful harvest.  Do not lose heart, believer!  Good questions to consider are considering stubborn barrenness is:  1) what am I sowing? and 2) where am I sowing?  We can trust God and His promises, for He who promised is able to perform - even when we are not able (Romans 4:12).  Praise the LORD for the fruitfulness which comes to those who persistently trust and obey God.