The Party Line

        When I was a teen aged kid, I didn't spend a lot of time on the telephone. We had seventeen other people on our “party line” and it wasn't available that much of a time. There was only one time that I can recall when I used the phone and it was about midnight on a Saturday night when the house was on fire. I cranked the phone for about 3 seconds and the operator answered and I told her what was going on. She didn't know where I was until she asked my name and then she immediately sounded the alarm for the local volunteer fire department. I then called my Mom and Dad who were out at a party that night and told them the situation and they immediately came home. There are times when you call out to someone and really hope that someone answers quickly. With our party line, you could interrupt whoever was speaking and tell them you had an emergency and everyone would usually hang up and let you use the line. That usually works for fires, robberies, medical issues and other frantic times of a physical nature. There are, however, some times when the problem isn't physical, that is, a time when no person here on earth can take care of the problem at hand. Psalm 4:3 says, “But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.”

       The Psalmist here makes comment about one simple fact. “The LORD will hear when I call unto Him.” Wow! What a statement and what a comfort to us. There may be those times when you would like to pick up your phone and call someone to take care of your depression or your anxiety, or your spiritual need. You might be discouraged at the way things are going in your life and things might just be piling up and you wonder how you are going to be able to take it. Some people can't take it and often take the route of false hope or just trying to forget the problems and hoping that they will go away. For the believer, the answer lies in the capability of our Great God. He will answer. That is what we like to hear. It does us no good to just stand there yelling to the moon or wringing our hands in desperation. We need to take the advice of the Psalmist and realize that the LORD will hear and answer. When I think of the issues that are going on just in my life, I soon realize that probably every person on earth is going through something right now that should require that person to call upon the LORD. A lot of things are small and seem to be insignificant while others are big and catastrophic. All of them should be taken to the LORD and set before Him. There are going to be some new things in your life today and the question is, what are you going to do with them? Take the advice of the Psalmist and know with the confidence of the Word of God that you can take them to the LORD and He will hear. When I called the operator and told her my predicament, I knew she would take care of the problem and sound the alarm. When things are piling up in your life, know that God will here and as Jeremiah 33:3 says, He will answer. First Peter 2:2-3 also reminds us that we can bring all of our burdens to the LORD. Because God is God, He hear and answer every plea and answer in every situation because He is God. Praise God today that He answers when we call on Him.