Mid-Week Musings

June 12, 2024

Suggested Reading: James 1:19

Dear NBRC Family & Friends,

She sounded discouraged during my recent visit with her. Life hasn’t been easy for her or for her husband over the last few years. They recently left their home due to their need of additional care. She’s fighting cancer. Dementia is causing him to have intermittent confusion and memory loss. The sudden and unexpected death of a close family member a while back was a hard loss for both of them.

She not only sounded discouraged emotionally, but discouraged spiritually as well. She spoke of her difficulty in praying and of God seeming to not answer her prayers. From her perspective that day, “God hasn’t been very good to us the last few years.” Even though she acknowledged others have worse than they, that realization didn’t seem to ease her pain or lighten her load of discouragement the day I visited her. As I listened to her talk, I kept thinking of words from Psalm 13 where the psalmist, David, asks,

1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I bear pain in my soul, and have sorrow in my heart all day long? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

(vv. 1-2, NRSV).

I don’t know if David ever got his questions answered, but I am certain the Lord listened as David cried out to Him. I’m also certain I listened to my friend that day.

In the moment, sometimes listening is all we can do and all we should do. It might be the only thing the other person really wants from us.

After she spoke and I listened, I shared Scripture with her and we prayed together. I hope she knows I was listening and that God was listening, too.

Pastor Ron

Prayer suggestion: As you pray, ask God to help you be a good listener.

(On Sunday morning, June 16, 2024, the sermon title will be The Promise of a Better Future. The Scripture lesson will be from Ezekiel 17:22-24.)