Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Even if it seems that God sometimes does not answer His "phone" when we pray, He does hear the "phone," and He does listen, and He does answer. Every cry of anguish uttered by Job was heard by God--at that time; and every prayer of David was heard and answered, and Jeremiah's, too. The problem was simply that at times they could not see the evidence that their prayers were heard and answered. And to understand this takes us directly to Christ's cross where it seemed to Him that His Father had turned His back on Him.
Job, David, Jeremiah, and maybe you too, have "tasted" a tiny bit of the perplexity that Jesus Himself had to endure. What brought Jesus through that final test of His faith is written in Psalm 22: He reminded Himself of truth that He knew about the character of His Father (vss. 3-5, 24). He remembered His own history from His birth in the barn in Bethlehem, what His Mother Mary had told Him about how He almost died as an infant (vss. 9, 10). On His cross He heard no voice from Heaven; no angel whispered a word of comfort to Him, or bathed His brow from the blood-sweat of the thorns; no ray of hope was given Him from any source, earthly or heavenly. He even forgot the name "Father" and cried, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Peter says He suffered the agony of hell (Acts 2:25-27). There in that torment He chose to believe the character of God, that "He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from him; but when he cried unto Him, He heard" (Psalm 22:24).
This precisely is our task: to believe Good News about our Father's character--even in the dark. Even at the very moment we pray, we can believe. And even though we may not hear a literal Voice or an angel whisper to us, and it's still dark, we can choose to thank God and praise Him for answers and blessings "which yet [we] have not seen" (Heb. 11:7). And then? We share the victory Christ won on His cross!
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 30, 2000.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
Even if it seems that God sometimes does not answer His "phone" when we pray, He does hear the "phone," and He does listen, and He does answer. Every cry of anguish uttered by Job was heard by God--at that time; and every prayer of David was heard and answered, and Jeremiah's, too. The problem was simply that at times they could not see the evidence that their prayers were heard and answered. And to understand this takes us directly to Christ's cross where it seemed to Him that His Father had turned His back on Him.
Job, David, Jeremiah, and maybe you too, have "tasted" a tiny bit of the perplexity that Jesus Himself had to endure. What brought Jesus through that final test of His faith is written in Psalm 22: He reminded Himself of truth that He knew about the character of His Father (vss. 3-5, 24). He remembered His own history from His birth in the barn in Bethlehem, what His Mother Mary had told Him about how He almost died as an infant (vss. 9, 10). On His cross He heard no voice from Heaven; no angel whispered a word of comfort to Him, or bathed His brow from the blood-sweat of the thorns; no ray of hope was given Him from any source, earthly or heavenly. He even forgot the name "Father" and cried, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Peter says He suffered the agony of hell (Acts 2:25-27). There in that torment He chose to believe the character of God, that "He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from him; but when he cried unto Him, He heard" (Psalm 22:24).
This precisely is our task: to believe Good News about our Father's character--even in the dark. Even at the very moment we pray, we can believe. And even though we may not hear a literal Voice or an angel whisper to us, and it's still dark, we can choose to thank God and praise Him for answers and blessings "which yet [we] have not seen" (Heb. 11:7). And then? We share the victory Christ won on His cross!
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: September 30, 2000.Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Wieland.
Be sure to check your e-mail for "Dial Daily Bread" again tomorrow.
------------------------------
Please forward these messages to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. The "Dial Daily Bread" Web site resides at: http://1888message.org/
To subscribe send an e-mail message with "subscribe" in the body of the message to: dailybread@1888message.org
------------------------------
Robert J. Wieland's inspirational "Dial Daily Bread" messages are availalbe via e-mail to anyone who wishes to receive a daily portion of uplifting Good News. "Dial Daily Bread" is FREE. Due to travel or other circumstances, there may be intervals when "Dial Daily Bread" will not be sent.
