May 11, 2019
Mother's Day is especially painful when your heart is longing for a baby. So on this week leading up to Mother's Day, a week that feels difficult, impossible even, I imagine you might be feeling like the Psalmist in Psalm 77 when he says: “in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.” Maybe you feel far away from God. Maybe you feel like He is punishing you. Maybe you feel like He has forgotten to be gracious. Maybe you feel like His faithfulness has come to an end and that He is no longer compassionate. Spend the next few days with me as we diligently make an effort to remember the God we love and serve. Just like the Psalmist in Psalm 77 when, after his seemingly harsh lament towards God, says very decisively, “Then I said, ‘I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.’" (meaning I will call to mind all the ways I have seen Him work and what I know to be true from my past) and the psalmist goes on to say: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” Let’s spend a few minutes together each morning this week intentionally remembering who God is and what that means for us personally. DAY 05 : GOD IS ATTENTIVE The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in Spirit. Psalm 34:15, 17-18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, Psalm 145:20a WHAT DOES THIS TRUTH, THAT GOD IS ATTENTIVE, MEAN FOR ME? It means that I can trust that He sees me, that He knows, that He is aware. It means that God is alert, watchful, observant, mindful of my life and not just generally but very specifically -- even about details that really wouldn’t matter even to us, like how many times we will sit down and stand up today. (Psalm 139) He is not a distant God who is unaware. In fact, the opposite is true. He is near. He hears your cry. Even better, He knows your words before you even say them (again, Psalm 139). God’s care for you is so deep and so thorough He never misses a step or a word -- you are fully known by Him and fully loved. Maybe you feel unseen today. Unknown. Like no one around you knows how you feel or what you are walking through, how hard it was to get up this morning, how hard impossible joy feels, how big your doubts and how little your faith. Maybe you feel like your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, that God isn’t listening. Maybe you are wondering if He is even real. What these verses tell us is that God is real and God is aware, He sees and He hears -- He is attentive to the cries of His children. And that means we can call out to Him knowing with full assurance that He hears us and He knows. --- THE JOYFUL MOURNING COMMUNITY: www.thejoyfulmourningcommunity.com THE JOYFUL MORNING INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/thejoyfulmorning SHOW NOTES: www.themorning.com/specialepisode06