Cry Out To Jesus.

Day 4- Matthew 26: 36-46

Have you ever been in a situation where you really needed to talk to a good friend and they said they’d call you back, but never did? Have you ever waited for a reply to a post or text that never came? It’s the worst feeling.  Something in each of us longs to be comforted by others when we’re going through difficult times.  In the most difficult period in Jesus’ life, he called his closest friends to be around him to stay up with him throuhout the night as he prayed.  But they fell asleep.  He must have been so hurt, so disappointed.  It’s not easy to say, “How could they?” when we’re not “they”.  But each of us has probably dropped the ball at some point when a friend really needed us.  We may have offered some sort of excuse.  But the truth is, when people aren’t there when we need them, it hurts whether they have a good excuse or not.  What are some ways that you can make sure you’re there for others when they need you? God has given us church as a place of safety and refuge.  But if we’re not there, we may be missing out on “being there” for someone who’s hurting.  Do you have a small group or place of worship that you can commit to attending on a regular basis? Just think of all the opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others, just by being there.

I just started getting my emails on my phone.  It’s great because I’m never behind, but I have began a really bad habit of getting the emails, skimming them, and never writing back.  I have a project due tomorrow in one of my classes.  There was some confusion about whether I would have a partner or not due to the background of this assignment.  Long story short, my potential partner emailed me on Friday and I didn’t write back until this morning. It ended up that we weren’t going to be working together and her neglected email on Friday became obsolete and I got the project done in time. 

Though read this devotion on Friday night, I’m just now blogging about it because I got so behind. Or maybe God set me behind so I could have a current situation to relate it too.  He’s getting really good at that. 

If we would have ended up working together on this, we would have had trouble getting it completed.  Know why? Because I fell asleep on Laila (my partner).  She asked me to help her and support her and I didn’t.  And I’ve done it before to different people.  I don’t answer phone calls or write back to my text messages. What if I need to? What if that person really needs me and isn’t just calling because they want to?

God gave us each other for a reason.  He wants us to communicate, to care, and to be compassionate about each other’s lives.  He wants us to grow into him.  He wants us to be there for one another, because we can.  We have the ability to listen to each other and to talk back. It’s a shame we don’t always use it.

I hate when people ignore me. Particularly when I need them to reassure me, when I need them to tell me that they’re still around in my life, when I need them to listen.  I hate it, but I still do it to other people.   If I’ve ever done it to you, I’m sorry.  Truly, I’m working on it.  But I think there’s something important to remember in this- He is always there for us. Though human responses tend to comfort us, text message replies, returned phone calls, and wall-to-walls really don’t matter.  God is the One we can turn to under any circumstance.  God is the one we can depend on to listen.  We don’t have to call and expect a voicemail.  We don’t have to wait for that “1 New Message” on our phones.  We don’t have to look for a notification.  He just listens.  Never forget that. We can always cry to Him.