Daily devotional, June 15, 2024 Hearing Test
"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 34:17-18
They say that hearing loss is inevitable, especially as we grow older. Scientific studies however say that ageing does not automatically cause deafness, and getting old does not make you hear less by default.
There are other factors that contribute to hearing loss, and hitting 70 years old is just one of them. Loud noise, head trauma, infections, among others are also factors that contribute to loss of hearing.
As followers of Jesus, we are assured that our Heavenly Father hears us no matter what. We can hold on to the promise that He will never be deaf towards our cries, because His ears are are open towards His people.
"We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him."
John 9:31
When we feel like no one cares to listen to us, we should remain steadfast in our faith that the Lord is always there for us. Other people may turn their back on us, or refuse to hear and help us, but as long as we have the Lord’s ears tuned into us, we have nothing to worry about.
"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
1 Peter 3:12
One Old Testament character that continued to call upon God to hear Him and His prayers is King David. The Israelite leader called on to God through the prayers and psalms that he sung in both good and bad times. In one of his longer psalms, King David showed just how dependent he was to the Lord as he looked back at how God has listened to His pleas for help:
"In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears."
Psalm 18:6
As present-day followers of Jesus, we too can have King David’s confidence to cry out to the Lord. And once we have come to Him in earnest prayer, we should calm our hearts as we wait on Him to respond to our pleas:
“But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”
Micah 7:7
And as we await for the Lord’s direction, deliverance, and providence, we must keep in mind that:
1. God responds on His own way: Isaiah 55:8-9 says: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'”
2. God responds on His own time: 2 Peter 3:8 says: “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”
3. God responds in the best way possible: Jeremiah 29:11-12 says: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfareand not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.”
It may not be easy to wait for our prayers to be answered, especially when we are losing hope because of a sickness, emotional trauma, financial distress, or relationship trouble. But all we have to do is to remain steadfast in our faith, and continue to be obedient to His will.
We have to continue living a life of worship regardless of our circumstances. And when we do this, we can take heart that we have a God that hears our every cry, who detects even our slightest whimper, and is always available to give us comfort and counsel.
"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us."
1 John 5:14
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Psalm 34 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Have you ever felt like the Lord is not listening to your prayers?
Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for your assurance that you hear the cries of those who abide by your will. Please help me endure waiting for your perfect timing and response to all my supplications, and help others to do the same. Amen.
