Recently our phones did an update! It was a lengthy update and seemed to take forever! Updates are not my favorite thing—doesn't matter if it is my phone or my computer. Something will have changed that I find disconcerting. It isn't just a plain ol'update! Things happen, things change, things move around, apps get added that I don't want—ever! I never know what change will happen that I can't fix or it will be a change advised for me, and the change is in computer language! I don't speak computer language! Those words given to me to help me understand the changes are words that just as might as well be a foreign language considering how much I understand. Sometimes I get asked if I understand or if I have questions. Since I didn't understand, I just click on the remind me later button and then hope—both, that it wasn't important or that it will forget that I said to remind me later! It reminds me of when I am reading the Bible and I find parts written or translated in words or in a way that I cannot figure out! That is when I search out different versions to try to find one that gives me better understanding. Sadly, there is no other translation for computer instructions! You either know it or you don't and if you don't, like me, you always wonder what you should have done that you didn't do. At least I can always get properly interpreted messages for my Bible confusing verses.
As we have grown older, sometimes we take advantage of the age of cell phones that we live in today. There are times when my husband is absent from me and I don't know where he is. Or after I am comfortable in bed and I remember something that I should have done. These and other times I take the easy way out and call him. I appreciate the technology that makes the cell phone such a must-have device. Recently, I did not know where my husband was, and I wanted to talk to him. This was after the update to our phones. So, I picked up my phone in good faith that nothing was out of normal. I called him. He answered, sort of, and then the call ended. I tried again, call ended. I tried again, call ended. Then he called me, call ended. We tried calling each other back and forth! Each time the call ended before anything could get said. This happened to us 20 times in 38 minutes. Would you guess we were frustrated? We called someone else to confirm that we could receive and send calls to others, just not between the two of us! And there was no way we could get help—it was a holiday weekend. I did hear him through this whole process—he was just upstairs being quiet until he tried to answer the phone! Needless to say, there was no talking to each other on the phone for the several days of holiday plus weekend. We went back to talking face to face! It wasn't until later the following week that we tried again to call each other, forgetting our previous problems, and that time the call went through with no call ending issues! Somehow, the problem fixed itself all by itself and life is back to normal. If only all our problems could somehow fix themselves.
It made me think about how I used to teach young children in my Sabbath School classes about prayer. I had collected several old rotary phones which are now way out of style and no kid would now recognize what they were. But they were useful back then to teach that we can talk to Daddy or Mommy or Grandma or Uncle on the phone and they can hear us and we can hear them but we can't see them. That concept was very understandable to them. "I talk to Daddy on the phone, on the phone, on the phone. I talk to Daddy on the phone, and he hears me, I know!" Then we would talk about how it was the same way with Jesus. We can talk to Jesus and He hears us but we can't see Him. "I talk to Jesus when I pray, when I pray, when I pray. I talk to Jesus when I pray, But He hears me, I know!"
I wanted to talk to Garry on the phone, but he could not hear me, that was plain! Unlike our frustrating situation, we can talk to Jesus and He always hears us! The other side of that is that He talks to us, but do we always hear Him? I know that the answer for me is that “No, I do not always hear Him.” Or maybe it is that I am not listening! And that is sad. Perhaps He might be as frustrated with me as we were when we could not talk with our phones to each other. The question I can’t answer is, “What if God never answered our calls to Him?” How would we feel? Isn’t it wonderful that we are promised He will always answer our calls!
Just this week I had a phone problem again! This time it was of a different nature. I have long joked that Garry's phone does not like me because often it seems that it chooses to not let my calls go through when the call is between the two of us. There is probably a good reason, but it still frustrates me. It seems like he can receive calls and talk with others but often my calls are ignored, and he is adamant that there weren’t any calls from me. And his call history confirms what he says! So that is why I think his phone has no love for me! This time I was getting concerned because he was more than 2 1/2 hours late coming home and I knew he was to have been fishing at the lake. As time went by, my concern was growing. I tried putting my concerns in God's hands but then I kept thinking, have I done my part?
Should I do something? Does God expect me to make an effort to find out what is happening? "God helps those who help themselves" is probably one of the most quoted phrases that is NOT actually found in the Bible. Sometimes it is referenced as Hezekiah 6:1 (which is not a book of the Bible). Historically, this phrase is usually credited to Ben Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanac,1757 or Algernon Sydney in 1698 or even as the moral of an Aesop's fable.
Whatever the original source of this saying, the Bible actually teaches the OPPOSITE of the saying "God helps those who help themselves." According to the Bible, God indeed helps the helpless! Isaiah 25:4 says, "For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat." And James 2:26 NIV—As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
So it seems like I did indeed lack trust in God. The lesson I need to learn is to trust God more. Garry was in a no-service area so there was a good reason he didn’t answer, but the good reason wasn't helping me feel relief! Relief came when I asked someone to go check on him. I am very thankful that God provides help for us in many different ways.
When considering phone calls in a devotional sort of way there are two main ways to think about them: the call from God and the call to God.
Unwelcome phone calls can provide opportunities for my spiritual response, viewed through divine love and compassion instead of frustration.
Challenges and struggles can be seen as "phone calls from God" giving us opportunities to pray for wisdom and healing, understanding that these experiences can lead to spiritual growth.
Prayer can be viewed as "calling on God," reaching out with our thanks, our needs, and acknowledging His presence—phone call to God!
God's presence is constant, and He is always "calling," waiting for people to "pick up the phone" through prayer and draw near to Him. People can choose to answer or ignore this call. Even brief moments of using phones can remind me/you to pray, strengthening our connection to God throughout the day.
The Bible can be seen as a "telephone to God" with verses that invite us to call upon Him, revealing His desire for connection and promising to listen to our prayers.
I often receive calls from numbers with no ID or calls from "Unknown" or many labeled as Potential Spam. I never answer any call that is not identified as being from a number I recognize. But there is a "however" for me to consider. Whether on the receiving end of an unwanted call or intentionally reaching out through prayer, there is an opportunity to engage with these experiences for spiritual growth and a deeper connection with God. I get kind of a lot of calls on my cell phone. So often, when I’m being pursued by people who we have no relationship with, they are from someone who wants to get us to buy or invest or subscribe to something, and the words “Potential Scam” pop up in the caller identification portion of the phone screen. I appreciate that notice. And when it does…I just hit that button that says, “end call”. I still get the calls, but I’m not letting them invade my life and capture my attention. I don't have to deal with that person that has a job that I would not want! I had several of those calls today and as I purposely shut down the call, I should have been reminded about what the Bible says about how we ought to deal with sin. Sin only has power over us because it hits something in us that is attractive to us in some way. And I, we all, will be bombarded all day long with all kinds of invitations to open ourselves to sin. But like those calls that are labeled “Potential Scam” on my phone, I need to just “end that call”. Sure, I can answer, listen and entertain that sin, but God has given us the power and the ability to just shut it down. I know…we won’t do that every time. That’s why we need to have repentance and forgiveness in our lives. But I don’t want to give sin a free pass to take my time, my attention and possibly even my heart. The Apostle Paul wrote that we should not let sin control the way we live and to not give in to those sinful desires. And the easiest way to do that…that is to just not answer when sin, "potential scam", comes calling. Jesus died to break the power of sin over us. So, I need to recognize what is happening and determine to just hang up when the scam of sin comes calling. As a follower of Jesus, sin no longer will be my master. Don’t give sin the power over yourself that Jesus crushed on the cross. Because sin, like so many of those calls that come to my phone…is always a potential scam!
Romans 6:10-12 NLTsays, " When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires."
Phone Call from God by Jerry Jordan If God Had a Cell Phone, Would He Call You?
(Imagine a Man in an easy chair watching TV in 1975. The phone rings.)
Hon, the phone’s a ringin’…will ya get it for me please? I’m a tryin’ to watch ol’ Johnny Carson. What? Get it myself?
Hello? Long distance? Yeah, this is me…who’s this? What? Whadaya mean am I a Christian? I don’t know. Who’s a callin’?
D-d-d-did you say h-h-heaven? W-w-w heh heh…w-well hello Lord! W-w-well Sir, I’ve been a Christian a long time. Y-y-yes Sir, I sure have. A-a-after all…Sir? You hadn’t heard from me in quite a while so you thought you’d better just go ahead and call, huh?
W-w-well, Lord, I tell ya, well just last night…this same time last night, I’s a plannin’ on talkin’ ta you. I-I was a layin’ there watchin’ that ol’ television, that ol’ Johnny Carson ya know was on the TV. I said to my wife, I said ‘Hon, ya know as soon as ol’ Johnny gets off the television we oughta get on our knees and talk to the Lord.’ That’s what we said. And I wish to goodness we’d a gone ahead and done it, but we didn’t. But I tell ya Lord what I’m gonna do…I’m gonna start doing that. I sure am. I’m gonna say my prayers tonight…whether I need to or not. Yes Sir.
Sir? Around my kids? Influence, ya mean? Well yes. I’m a good Christian in front of the kids. Lord, never do we do anything in this here house or say anything that be wrong in front of our children. No Sir…not a word. I don’t believe in it.
And that’s…Sir? What did I say when I got my thumb caught in the linen closet? You heard about that? Well…I was just standin’ there, Lord, you know, and all of a sudden this door here come out from nowhere, and and my thumb was in the way, and and it hurt so bad, and and it was awful and I said…well Lord, heh heh, never mind what I said.
But…Sir? Praise? Yes Sir, I give praise. Yes Sir, I sure do. I’s a readin’ the Bible the other day…I picked it up and it said in Theesaleenians to give the Lord the praise. I sure did. But I tell ya Lord, it was just a little hard to find a place to give the praise when I got my thumb caught in the closet door.
Sir? Yes Sir, I sure do. I love that preacher! He’s a wonderful man! That’s the preachenist dude I’ve ever seen. I-I love him. I sure do. Sir? If he’s such a wonderful preacher then why don’t I start doing more of what he says? Well, Lord, I-I thought I did pretty much what he says already.
Sir? If I’m doing all he says, he must not say a whole lot, huh? Well, Lord, maybe you should’ve called him instead of me. Heh, heh. Oh well, that was just a thought anyway, Lord.
Sir? Yes, I know that Lord. I know that and you’re right. You sure are. This is one of the very few countries that we’ve got that we can work in You without violating those man-made laws.
Yes Sir and I-I…Sir? Yes Sir, I realize that you must love us dearly and giving your Son to die on the cross, Lord, you know. And I do appreciate it…I sure do. This phone call has meant a lot to me.
Sir? Oh, you gotta go now? Well now I tell ya Lord, I appreciate ya callin’, and and thanks for reminding me and all, and I’m gonna start doing better. I-I think I need to…
Sir? You think I need to, too huh? Well I am. I’m gonna rededicate my life right now, Lord. I sure am. And I’m gonna start tithing my tithe, my ten percent, and paying my debts Lord, and I…yes Sir and I’m gonna go to church on Sunday…and Sunday morning worship preaching…and every time Lord they have church, I’m gonna be there Lord and take an active part in it.
Sir? Yes Sir and pray for others…just like they’ve been praying for me. Yes, Sir Lord. Now now you know how dependable that I am, and Lord you can depend on me for doing that. Heh, heh. OK Lord, and thank you, I thank you so much for callin’, hear? Good bye, now.
What’s that dear? Who was it on the telephone? Never mind. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you who it was. Was it the wrong number? Well no, it wasn’t the wrong number. Believe me, the man has my number. In fact I think he probably has a lot of people’s numbers. But I tell you one thing, the next time the phone rings, you can answer it. You needed it a whole lot worse than I did.
God’s calls are never Spam! And He always answers my calls!!!!