Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of the God who hears us when we call out to Him. It’s not just that He notices that there is some kind of noise, but He hears with a heart of love and compassion. God’s hearing of us results in support and grace and help.
“In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears” (Psalm 18:6).
Often the unsaved think that they cannot come to God as they are; they think that they are so messed up and that they will be able to approach God only when they have cleaned themselves up. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.
As Christians, we can sometimes make the same evaluations. When we are not doing so well, we think that God will not want to hear from us. This is also not true. God always wants to hear from us. He always cares. He always wants to help. In the verse above, the psalmist cried and God heard in a time of distress.
“For 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 verse takes the truth even deeper, as it speaks of God’s attitude and response to the cry of the afflicted. He hears, and it is not with a heart of contempt or rejection that could stem from disappointment in our weakness. Rather, He does not despise or abhor such needy people.
There are many verses in the Bible that communicate this same thought. Here are a few that readily come to mind. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). God invites us to come when we don’t have it all together, when we are overwhelmed and burdened down. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (I Peter 5:7). When we are filled with care, He wants us to come.
God’s heart is full of compassion, influenced by our interceding Savior. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16). It is when we are weak and in need of help that He invites us to come boldly. He wants to help us.
There are so many ways in which we can be a “mess” and feel unworthy of coming to God, but God wants us to come anyway. If we are discouraged, He wants to encourage us. If we are weak, He wants to strengthen us. If we are confused, He wants to give us wisdom. If our faith is faltering, He wants us to turn to Him with the remnant we have remaining. Whatever the need, it is not beyond the understanding or compassion of God. It is not beyond His ability to give help. It is not beyond His ability to deliver.
So, even when our hearts are the biggest mess, let us go to our Savior. Even if we have to tell Him that we hardly have the heart to come nor the words to say, but that we are coming because we don’t know what else to do. And really, that is an important point, because if we don’t go to Him when we are a mess, think of the alternative! If we wallow alone in our discouragement, weakness, or confusion, we cannot proceed in a good direction from there; we will only get worse.
We must go to the One who cares and can help. We can tell Him how weak we are, how discouraged we are, how faithless and how ignorant. Our words can be, “I don’t see any possibility of help, and I’m not even sure how You can help, but I need You.” And so often, God will do what He has done so many times in the past. “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).
Praise our great God that He loves us when we are unlovely, that He perfects us when we are quite imperfect, and that He helps us when we are most helpless. Truly, we need Him every hour!
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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