LINE BUSY KEEP TRYING

           

A man needed to make a phone call to his insurance company.  First came the busy signals for an entire day! Next came a recorded message that said, “Our lines are still busy. Please hold or hang up and try again.” Finally he got through. But this led to a set of instructions: For policy information, press 1. For new coverage, press 2. To make a claim, press 3. To talk to an agent, press 4. He chose the last option. A recording said he was out of the office. He hung up.

In Psalm 34:15,17 David says “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles”.  These are wonderful promises of God’s providential care for the righteous. Years later Apostle Peter quoted these words of David (1 Peter 3:12); God had the promise repeated in the New Testament because it’s valid for all generations.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous; David knew this very well. In Psalm 139 he says “You (God) know when I sit and when I rise (v.2). You are familiar with all my ways (v.3).  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are  there ; if i make my bed in the depths , you are there (v.9). if  i say "surely darkness will hide me. To you the night will shine like the day (v.11-12).

In Deuteronomy 11: 11-12 we God told the Israelites “the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year”. The children of Israel can go there in confidence knowing that he will be watching over their land and over them as well.

The Promised Land had hills and valleys but God’s eyes were on it always. Every hill and every valley was well watered by him. May we never forget that whether our steps lead us through the glorious heights of the mountain top experience, or through the rugged valleys below, we will never leave the gaze of our Father. May we never forget that wherever we are, God’s providence is there.

Losing sight of God is a scaring thing. Job was a righteous man (Job 1:1), but he found himself in a crisis (Job 23). He cried out ‘If only I knew where to find him (God)” (v.3). He sought God everywhere but he could not find him (v.8). Then he figured out that although God was invisible to him, wherever God was, he was clearly seeing him. Job said “I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take” (vv.9-10).

God was not only watching what was happening to Job; he was also involved in the details to ensure that the ending was good. Job said “when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold”. Every day our lives take us into unknown territories. But, we can rest assured that the God who keeps His eyes on a sparrow is keeping His eyes us too. We are worth more than many sparrows (Matt.10:29-31).

In Psalm 94:9 the Psalmist asks, “Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?”. The Psalmist does not ask, “Does he not have ears? Does he not have eyes?”  He asks, “Will he not hear? Will he not see?” He that made the eye to see must see all that the eye can see; he must have the power of sight far beyond what there is in the mere organ which he has fashioned.

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, but this does not mean that God will shield them from every difficulty this world has to offer. David makes it clear that “many are the afflictions of the righteous” (Ps 34:19). But there is also a blessed promise that comes with this warning “the Lord delivers him out of them all.” The righteous face trials and when they cry out to God, His ears are open to their cry.

David says “The righteous cry out and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles”. In 2 Chronicles 16:9 we have a similar and wonderful promise; “The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” Strangely, this great promise of God came in the context of a rebuke toward Asa king of Judah.

Asa the king of Judah was a godly king (2 Chron. 14:2-4). In 2 Chronicles 14:9-15 we read that the  Cushite king went out to attack Judah. Asa cried out "Lord there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God , for we rely on you and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord you are our God do not let mere mortals prevail against you (2 Chron. 14:11).

God heard and answered Asa’s prayer. 2 Chronicles 14:12 tells us, “So the LORD defeated the Cushites.” The army of Judah had to fight, but it’s the Lord who defeated the Cushites. But then we come to 2 Chronicles 16, and here we find that “Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah. This time Asa made an alliance with Syria, a foreign nation who worshiped false gods.

 Asa's plan worked but it displeased the LORD. Hanani the seer came to him and said “Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you. Were not the cushites a huge army with very many chariots and  horsemen ? Yet because you relied on the Lord , he gave them into your hand .

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done a foolish thing. Indeed, from now on you will have wars (2 Chron.16:7-9). The result would be endless wars and not the peace that he sought after.

Proverbs 21: 31 tell us “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD”. In Psalm 33:16-20 we are told “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.  But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death.

The Bible says that “God’s eyes are on the ways of man and He sees all his steps (Job 34:21, prov.5:21). Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Heb. 4:13). God certainly sees all things, knows all things, and watches over all things. This is a source of great comfort and encouragement to the righteous. But if you are unrighteous this should terrify you.

David says “the face of the Lord is against them that do evil; to cut off their remembrance from the earth” (Ps.34:16). God sees even the evil that is done in secret (Ezek 8:12). He searches the heart and examines the mind, to reward each person according to their  conduct, according to what their deeds deserve (Jer. 17:10). God is not indifferent to the deeds of sinners , but he sets his face against them.

The God who hears the prayer of the righteous is far from the wicked (Prov. 15:29). They will cry out to him but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done (Micah 3:4). Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But ...your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isa. 59:1-2).

In Psalm 37 we are told that the Lord knows the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever (v.18). But, the evildoers shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb (vv.1-2). The wicked shall perish, they shall vanish away (v.20). The wicked in great power may spread himself like a native green tree. Yet he will pass away and be no more; those who look for him will not find him (v.36).

David said to God “You are my hiding place; you shall preserve me from trouble. This was followed by a promise from God “I will guide you with my eye.” (Ps 32:7-8). The Lord never lets the righteous out of His sight. They cry out and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. They can cry, Abba, Father and be confident that he will hear. They do not always get immediate answers to their prayers, but they know that they are heard.

We can lift our voices to the Lord at any time and in any place with full assurance that is seeing us and he will hear us. And He does more than just receive our requests; He gives us what is best because he understands exactly what we need. His wisdom and power are beyond our comprehension. Proverbs 15:8 says, “The prayer of the upright is His delight.” So pray, God listens! You'll never get a busy signal on the prayer line to Heaven.

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