Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Say the Words I Love to Hear

This could be a post about the return of our little darlings to eight hours of "disciplined" learning, and our homes to order and tranquility. This could be a post about the restoration of Hillary Clinton's integrity and the likelihood of her Presidential success. This could be a post about the public lynching of a Kentucky county clerk, or the rescinding of the Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage -- depending on which side of the fence you reside. This could be a post about winning the lottery, or a cancer-free PET scan, or a cure for ALS -- or AIDS -- or even narcolepsy. How about a new job, a first job, retirement, adoption, marriage proposal or a long-awaited divorce decree? What do you want? What are the words you long to hear?

As I sat down at my computer this morning, I looked at my Verse of the Day, found in Psalm 143. As I went back a couple of verses, to the beginning of the chapter, I read these words:
"Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness."
I hate to gloss over anything, but in the interest of time, my thoughts went something like this:
  • How great is it The God of the Universe even cares what is on my heart? Do I ever fully contemplate, or spend time appreciating that?
  • He listens -- and answers -- because of who He is: not because I do anything worth bragging about, or I am a pretty big deal or anything. He answers because it is His nature to be faithful to His people and the promises He has made to them.
And this is the one that sort of got me to where I'm going with all this:
  • He answers in His righteousness.
How pleasing it is to hear the things we want to hear. How happy it makes us to hear accolades and promises. But, how much better to hear truth! How much better to hear what is right!

Just as I was typing this last line, my phone rang. My baby was towed from the driveway this morning. (Relax, my baby is a truck.) My mechanic was calling to discuss with me his diagnosis and, of course, his fee. He is well acquainted with my baby, and I can't say he is particularly fond of her. How happy we would both be if he said it would be a simple fix, threw a Band-Aid on the problem and sent us on our way. Cheap and easy. I might get a week or two out of her. But sooner or later I'd find myself on the phone with AAA, baking somewhere by the side of the road, angry I'd been sold a bill of goods, and ready to wring my mechanic's neck. He too, would be happy for a time. But sooner or later, as telling people what they want to hear became common practice, he would find himself very low on difficult customers and equally as low on cash!

God tells us the truth -- always! We can know that that which is right will come to pass at the word of the Lord.

What would I love to hear God say to me? That I could quit my "real job," and write full-time. That my writing would be successful enough to support us well. That our children would all experience God's forgiveness and, in turn, be able to forgive others. That my mother's health would improve. That my friends who are feeling "at the end of their rope," would know what it means to experience peace. And that all of this will happen some time before 3:00 this afternoon.

But I want God to tell me the truth. I want God to work His will in His time. I want the truth of God to change who I am and make me whole. I want God to develop in me the heart of a true prayer warrior, a true believer -- even if He never says the things I'd love to hear.