My furnace people and my God...

I got up this morning, and the house was 53 degrees.  -5 degrees outside.  Not fun at all.

We just got a new furnace in September.  Really?

The joys of winter. 

The problem is that the gas is too cold to run through the lines, properly.  (At least that’s my theory…and I’m stickin’ to it.)

This is the kind of weather that literally takes your breath away.  As soon as you step outside you can feel the air against you skin.  When someone says the air hits you like a slap in the face, it’s an accurate description.  Miserable.

What’s the cure?  We call the furnace guy and they come to fix it.  Seems right to me.  Pick up the phone and they are there.  Thankfully, at this point in the middle of the day, the furnace is back up and running well.  Simple fix.  Call the people who know about furnaces and they come.  Nice when life is like that.

Here’s the thing.  Life isn’t always like that... 

Sometimes there is a big mess that comes with trying to solve a problem.  It’s opening a can of worms to address certain issues in our lives.  On top of that, often we try to pray about our problems, and we feel that God is not listening.  We feel like I did when I called the furnace people.  Because it was so cold, they could not answer my call right away, and I had to leave a number for them to call.  The furnace folks were swamped by people like me who had problems like me.

So, is God too busy sometimes?  Is God “Unable to take your call at this time?”  Does He have an answering machine that says, “Please leave a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can?”  (Are those “not here right now” messages the most frustrating thing ever invented?)  So you leave a message…”Ok, God.  I need to talk to you right away…Can you call me when you get a sec?”  Maybe, He’ll call back, maybe He won’t.  You just feel like to never know.

Good news.  We NEVER have to leave a message with our Heavenly Father.  He’s always there.  Literally ALWAYS.  Hear the words from Psalm 121…

121 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Awesome stuff, isn’t it?  He NEVER sleeps or grows weary of listening to our small problems, and our big ones.  Great news, isn’t it?

To me, He is like the furnace people were today.  I call, they say, “OK, we’ll be there in 30 minutes.”  Comforting to know that they are there.  Not only that they are there, but that they hear me and actually seem to want to help me out of my trouble. Love it!

Folks, God is just that way.  He does hear your cry for help, and He is with you.  No need to leave a message…

Pastor Ron Schermerhorn