Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - Uninterrupted Service - #5499

Thursday, February 7, 2008

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I guess some of us have become way too dependent on cell phones. But when you travel as much as I do, there are times when your cell phone is your only link and you really needed to communicate. Unfortunately, many of those moments find me in the middle of one of those black holes where you're nowhere near a cell tower. Like trying to find a cell site in great stretches of the Western United States, or try it in the middle of a remote Indian reservation, for example. That's why I get such a chuckle out of a cell phone commercial they had for a while. This guy is in the woods, talking on his cell phone and saying, "Can you hear me now?" Then he's in a swamp or something and he’s saying, "Can you hear me now?" Finally, he's on top of some mountain, "Can you hear me now?" I wish I had a dollar for every time I've asked that question.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Uninterrupted Service."

That question takes on a far deeper significance when you're in one of those times when you're feeling away from God. And it's God who you're asking, "Can you hear me now?" The valley may be very deep, "Lord, can You hear me now?" The wilderness may be very lonely and very long, "Lord, can You hear me now?" The guilt and the shame may haunt you constantly, " Lord, can you hear me now?"

And He answers unequivocally in Psalm 139 , beginning with verse 7, our word for today from the Word of God: "Where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,' even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You."

Well, there it is. No matter where you are, no matter how deep in, no matter how cold inside, no matter how far down, or how far away you feel, the answer to "Can You hear me now, Lord?" is always a resounding "Yes!" He is always there for you, in the depths of your depression, in the hardness of your rebellion, in the coldness of your feelings, in the roller coaster of your emotions He's there! If you feel far from God, remember, He hasn't moved! And if you're running from God, hoping somehow to escape Him, realize that is the ultimate Mission Impossible. He will always run faster than you can.

But if it seems you're having a hard time getting through to God, consider one thing that creates a serious communication breakdown. Psalm 66:18 says, "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear." That means that there's a sin you're loving more than Him, a sin you are stubbornly hanging onto. That's serious trouble in the line. But He's still listening for you to say, "God, I'm so sorry for hurting You. I’m sorry for defying You. Forgive me. Change me." Maybe He's been waiting a long time to hear those words from you.

If your feelings are telling you that your Lord can't be reached from where you are now, your feelings are lying to you. It is one of the great treasures of belonging to Jesus that you can never again be somewhere that God cannot hear you, and He loves to hear your voice.