God Hears Us - by Ben Barnes

I’m five months into this parenting situation and there are days that, when I wake up in the morning, I forget that I’m a father.  But I’m 100% sure that’s only because of the lack of sleep.  Believe it or not, babies don’t always sleep well.  And my baby is no exception.  We spend a lot of time getting up to give the baby a bottle or to replace a pacifier or, more often than not,  because the baby just decides to cry.  There have been a few times that we’ve gone more than just a few minutes before running into the nursery to settle her down.  I know babies cry.  Mine does.  A lot.  Sometimes her cries are telling Jeannette & I that she has a need that she can’t take care of on her own.  Other times her cries are just for mom or dad to come sit and watch her sleep.  Ultimately, my hope is as we take a few extra minutes to attend to her (after her immediate needs are met), that she’ll learn that she doesn’t need us to be there at every waking (and sleeping) moment.  Because we (and she) need sleep.

The Psalms are full of a very similar situation.  “God, hear my cry from the depths.”  “Attend to my needs, O God.”  “How long must I wait for you, O Lord?”  David was in a dark place and was crying out to God for help.  And it seemed to David that God was the only one able to take care of his problem at times.  Some of David’s cries are desperate, as if he thought God might not be listening.  But God was hearing.  Just like Jeannette and I hear when little Emaline cries at night, God was hearing David’s cries from the depths.  Though God may not have immediately swooped in to solve all of David’s problems, He was listening.  Though God may not have answered David’s cries immediately, God was teaching David.  He was helping David much more than just the initial and immediate problems David found himself in.

We’ve all been there.  We’ve all found ourselves wanting God’s help in the immediate.  “God, please help me finish this report.”  “God, I can’t deal with a speeding ticket right now.”  “God, this blog was due a week ago.”  God hears our cries.  In some instances, God is quick to help.  And at other times, God allows us to suffer briefly, knowing that it’s for our long term good.