JMD Devotional 144 Psalm 22:24 Being Heard
Psalm 22:24 For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither has He hidden His face from him, but when he cried to Him, He heard.
When I was in the Army I spent a year on a remote mountain top microwave site with eight other G.I.s. Every two months a chaplain came up and sat with each of us to see if we had any issues. When I went to the main base camp a few miles away, our commanding officer would ask how things were going and actually stopped and listened. It was not until my tour in Korea was almost over that I learned about a soldier who was assigned to my site two years prior. His family was going through a crisis, he needed to take leave, but no one responded to his burden. He was made to feel that keeping that microwave relay running (in peacetime) was more important than his family; so he broke into the gun cabinet and shot up the transmitter!
Proverbs 21:13 (NIV) If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
What does it take to wake us up to the needs of those around us? Do we have to wait until a crisis develops before we make their needs our priority? When I was going through marriage counseling, the first two out of five years was spent on communication and getting me to really listen to my wife. Like most knuckle-headed men, I just didn't get it. Whenever she tried to share, I got defensive, tried to fix things or evaded the issues. All she wanted was to be heard: for me to validate her feelings and share her burden for a while. To (really) listen is to love.
1 Peter 3:7-9 (AMP) In the same way you married men should live considerately with [your wives], with an intelligent recognition [of the marriage relation], honoring the woman as [physically] the weaker, but [realizing that you] are joint heirs of the grace (God's unmerited favor) of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered and cut off. [Otherwise you cannot pray effectively.] Finally, all [of you] should be of one and the same mind (united in spirit), sympathizing [with one another], loving [each other] as brethren [of one household], compassionate and courteous (tenderhearted and humble). Never return evil for evil or insult for insult (scolding, tongue-lashing, berating), but on the contrary blessing [praying for their welfare, happiness, and protection, and truly pitying and loving them]. For know that to this you have been called, that you may yourselves inherit a blessing [from God--that you may obtain a blessing as heirs, bringing welfare and happiness and protection].
Dear God,
Sometimes I really confuse my role and purpose; I don't know when to express my hard or soft side, my intellect or my heart; I so often get it wrong. Please help me to be compassionate and sensitive, especially when my wife or a friend needs to be heard. May I not be ashamed that I don't have all of the answers; may I not rush into remedies that miss the real need. People usually don't want me to fix them, they don't desire my lofty answers, they just need comfort and reassurance. Make me the tangible part of Your kingdom, the representative heart and soul of Jesus in those critical situations for Your glory. Help me to slow down and be accessible.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
When I was in the Army I spent a year on a remote mountain top microwave site with eight other G.I.s. Every two months a chaplain came up and sat with each of us to see if we had any issues. When I went to the main base camp a few miles away, our commanding officer would ask how things were going and actually stopped and listened. It was not until my tour in Korea was almost over that I learned about a soldier who was assigned to my site two years prior. His family was going through a crisis, he needed to take leave, but no one responded to his burden. He was made to feel that keeping that microwave relay running (in peacetime) was more important than his family; so he broke into the gun cabinet and shot up the transmitter!
Proverbs 21:13 (NIV) If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
What does it take to wake us up to the needs of those around us? Do we have to wait until a crisis develops before we make their needs our priority? When I was going through marriage counseling, the first two out of five years was spent on communication and getting me to really listen to my wife. Like most knuckle-headed men, I just didn't get it. Whenever she tried to share, I got defensive, tried to fix things or evaded the issues. All she wanted was to be heard: for me to validate her feelings and share her burden for a while. To (really) listen is to love.
1 Peter 3:7-9 (AMP) In the same way you married men should live considerately with [your wives], with an intelligent recognition [of the marriage relation], honoring the woman as [physically] the weaker, but [realizing that you] are joint heirs of the grace (God's unmerited favor) of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered and cut off. [Otherwise you cannot pray effectively.] Finally, all [of you] should be of one and the same mind (united in spirit), sympathizing [with one another], loving [each other] as brethren [of one household], compassionate and courteous (tenderhearted and humble). Never return evil for evil or insult for insult (scolding, tongue-lashing, berating), but on the contrary blessing [praying for their welfare, happiness, and protection, and truly pitying and loving them]. For know that to this you have been called, that you may yourselves inherit a blessing [from God--that you may obtain a blessing as heirs, bringing welfare and happiness and protection].
Dear God,
Sometimes I really confuse my role and purpose; I don't know when to express my hard or soft side, my intellect or my heart; I so often get it wrong. Please help me to be compassionate and sensitive, especially when my wife or a friend needs to be heard. May I not be ashamed that I don't have all of the answers; may I not rush into remedies that miss the real need. People usually don't want me to fix them, they don't desire my lofty answers, they just need comfort and reassurance. Make me the tangible part of Your kingdom, the representative heart and soul of Jesus in those critical situations for Your glory. Help me to slow down and be accessible.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
http://SaintJamesPoetry.blogspot.com
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
http://jamesezadventures.blogspot.com/
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 6:08 AM
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