23rd August 2023
Open 24/7
“Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear”
Isaiah 65:24 (NIV)
We drove two hours to get there. She threw up the whole way, and I had to hold her. She is our problem child; a dog named Piper. Apparently, not only are all the animal vets closed on the weekend, but they do not have emergency care either. This clinic we drove to was open 24/7. This is the result of Covid-19. The amount of people adopting pets during this time of stress grew in huge numbers, and there are not enough animal vets to go around; they are overwhelmed like our healthcare system, We were not the only ones there at the animal hospital that late hour; others drove for hours as well. The wait was very long, but we were just glad to get someone who cared to look at her.
Are we available 24/7? I admit there are times when I put off a text because I am busy or just tired. It is not always physical exhaustion, sometimes I am mentally tired. Do you get this way as well? I am sure you do. I am far from perfection, we all are; only Jesus lived a perfect life. If Jesus had expected us to be perfect all the time, we would not need a Saviour. We always have an open door with God through prayer. I do not have to travel a long distance in order to get an audience. I do not have to hope someone will answer my call; in fact, God hears me before I call.
Talk about service, God does not even wait for our needs before he comes knocking on our door. Of course, we do not always get an answer right away, we don’t always get the answer we feel we need, but God hears us and he still answers us before our need is even voiced. He is there to walk beside us and give us his wisdom, his comfort, and his aid. Like the words to the song “He Walks with Me” by Merle Haggard: “And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known!” God’s arms are open 24/7 to us.
Not only does God hear us, but he says in Matthew 28:20, “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Always is a very long time Sometimes it doesn’t feel like God is there when our world falls apart or does not go the way we think it should, but he is there always listening for our call and comforting us when we are in need, This world can lay a heavy burden on us, and the noise of its malfunction can block the wee small voice of God to our hearing. We may lose focus, but God is paying attention 24/7. What seems hopeless, he can turn around.
The very last words in the Bible state: ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people’; and he is 24/7. I pray this for you as well. Cry out to him in your distress, and he will hear you! May he give us the strength and the trust to wait on him. What seems out of our hands, and often is, is not too hard for God.
Prayer
Loving Father, may you give us comfort, and a glimpse of your presence as you open our eyes to see you nearby. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Study by Anne Gillam
About the writer:
Anne Gillam is a retired Pastor in Grace Communion International, Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA.
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