Can’t You Hear Me? – Katy Foster
A beautiful northern bluebird pecked at our kitchen window while flying in midair as if he wanted in the house. “He’s trying to tell us something,” we all agreed. We combed over the backyard for hungry hawks or snakes and found nothing. We placed water and birdseed on the back porch, hoping to please him. However, two days later, we found the poor bird dead. We felt just awful! If only we could have communicated better!
What a horrible thought to not be heard when in need! Proverbs 22:13 NKJV tells us that “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.” We don’t help others just to be heard ourselves, but we listen and help others because we understand that being unheard is painful and discouraging. As followers of Jesus, we listen, and we help. What a ministry! To share the unmatched love of Jesus with others, to pray with others and for others, to listen to others, and to give to others.
Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” An opportunity to help Jesus is compelling! How would our world be different if we stopped, listened, and helped? The world is full of hurt. If we don’t know anyone that is hurting, it may be because we are not listening.
Dear Heavenly Father, convict us to open our ears, to hear the cries of the needy, and to help. Sanctify us, and just as Jesus was sent into the world, send us, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Katy Foster, of Flowery Branch, Georgia, and her husband are the authors of the series From a Boy to a Godly Man. Contact |
