Enough Already!

Have you ever just really wanted to rant and rail at God? Ever felt forgotten or ignored? You've waited and waited and waited and still, nothing seems to be changing; the answer still hasn'T come.

David found himself in that very situation. Psalm 13 begins with:

“How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? 

How long will You hide Your face from me?”

That’s the NIV translation; very polite and respectful. But the Message paraphrase says,

“Long enough, God! 

You've ignored me long enough! 

I've looked at the back of Your head long enough!”

WOW! That’s pretty strong language. The frustrations, cares and anxieties of life had just about pushed David over the edge. He was tired of waiting! But, he ends Psalm 13 with a strong statement of faith:

“But I trust in Your unfailing love; 

my heart rejoices in Your salvation. 

I will sing the Lord’s praise, 

for He has been good to me.”

You see, David had a history with God. He had called upon God time and time again in his life, and he had seen God’s salvation time and time again.

We, too have a history with God. When we are at the place of saying, “Enough already!” we can look behind and see where He has brought us, how He has delivered us, healed us and blessed us, we too can say, “But I trust in Your unfailing love…for He has been good to me!”

‘Lena Ehlert

©Whispers in Worship

She Kept on Praying...

"There once was a man who lived in Ramathaim...His name was Elkanah. 

He had two wives. The first was Hannah; the second was Peninnah. 

Peninnah had children; Hannah did not."

1 Samuel 1:1 (MSG)

Hannah had a problem...a problem that was completely out of her hands. She needed God to move on her behalf.

Elkanah's other wife, Peninnah, was not a pleasant person. She had born Elkanah several children and never hesitated to remind Hannah of that fact; as if Hannah could possibly not notice all those children running around the house with hair or eyes so similar to Elkanah's.

Elkanah took his entire family to Shiloh to offer sacrifices to God each year. Year after year, Peninnah taunted Hannah with her words along the way, possibly with a new baby on her hip time after time.

Hannah was heartbroken. She needed God to move!

Elkanah tried to console her; wasn't he enough for her? Here...have some food! (Because food cures all, right?) As you read the story, it seems that for his sake Hannah tries to pull herself together, eat some dinner and then slips away from the table. Away from the festivities, away from the chatter of little voices.

But she was broken. As she entered the temple, she began to pray...silently, but weeping inconsolably. the NIV translation says, "she kept on praying..."

That's the verse that stopped me in my tracks as I read this chapter. "She kept on praying." She had been praying year after year, asking the same thing of God time after time. She had endured the humiliation of Peninnah's words and the pathetic looks from other moms. But, "she kept on praying..."

What is it that you desperately need from God today?
Have you been asking Him over and over, time after time, maybe year after year?
Do you wonder if He will ever respond or answer your prayer?

You're not alone, for I have, too, as have many others around us. But, I was reminded to do as Hannah did...keep on praying!!

Hannah received her miracle. By the next year, Samuel had been born to her and she rejoiced greatly She had promised God she would return him to serve God all of his days. But the taunting words no longer affected her. The sound of little feet or chattering voices no longer reminded her of her lack. she had received her promise, all because..."she kept on praying."

'Lena
©Whispers in Worship

Slow Down....

"Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry? 
Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway? 

But you say, ‘I can’t help it. I’m addicted to alien gods. 

I can’t quit.‘ …But when things go badly, 
they don’t hesitate to come running, 

calling out, ‘Get a move on! Save us!’

Jeremiah 2:25, 27b (Message)

I read this verse today and was chastised. I often get caught up in the busy-ness of life, the things that concern me, the burdens, even the fun opportunities that come my way.

“I have these errands to run, today”

“I’m reading this book that is so good, I just can’t put it down.”

“That is my favorite television show; gotta get home in time to watch it.”

“There are so many good movies out right now; I’ll be out every night!”

“The shoe store has a buy one / get one sale…let’s go shopping!”

Running, running, running…barely time to breathe. Add to the mix just the normal necessary things we must do (work, meals, laundry, etc.) and our time is eaten up quickly. And then, we collapse and say, “I’m so exhausted; I wish I had time to rest.”

But what happens when something goes wrong?

“The doctor says the test is positive.”

“I received my two week notice today.”

“There’s just not enough money to pay the bills this month.”

We don’t hesitate to come running yelling, “Help!” when we are in trouble. I’m not saying we should never run errands, go shopping, read books or see movies (although…not sure about the movies!). But, when we are so “addicted” to these things and have made them alien gods, it’s time to stop and rethink our lives. God wants to be a part of each and every moment of our lives, the busy moments and the not so busy moments.

I was chastised today…I don’t spend enough “not so busy” moments with God. Too many other “alien gods” grab my attention. Moses was a man with many, many responsibilities… leading thousands of people across the desert. I’m pretty sure there were times when he wanted to rest. But God said to him,

“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Exodus 33:14 (ESV)

Let’s not leave Him out of our busy lives, our fun moments, our hardest trials. His presence will bring rest to our souls and strength to our weary bodies.

I’m so thankful that His chastisement is gentle and loving.

’Lena Ehlert

©Whispers in Worship

Are You Hungry?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Matthew 5:6

Have you ever wanted something to eat, but just not been “hungry” for anything you have? Or you know you need to eat, but just don’t feel hungry? We all know that there are good foods and bad foods; there are foods that are healthy for us and there are those that really, really taste good, but cause our bodies to react in unhealthy ways.

Last Tuesday in prayer meeting as I was praying I asked the Lord to give me a hunger for His word; a hunger for His presence. I realized that while I know that I need to spend time in His word and presence, I’m not hungry!!

There are all sorts of things that vie for our attention or our time. There are good books to read that feed our minds and encourage our hearts; and there are books that fill our minds and hearts with junk. There are television shows that are informative, heartwarming and evening spiritually uplifting; but there are those that are “junk food” and cause our spirits to react in unhealthy ways. Just like physical food, we have to decide what we are hungry for…

I don’t want to spend time reading His word just because I know it’s good for me….I want to be hungry!

I don’t want to spent time in prayer just because I know it’s the right thing to do… I want to be hungry!

And I want to be hungry for Him!

Psalm 107:9 says, “For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Are you hungry?