Sunday, March 5, 2017

Devotion 3.6.17

Peace - Psalm 118

I had a police officer walk up to the door of my house recently.  Working from home, I was at the table on the computer and saw him walking up.  With family in Lubbock but not at home with me at that time, my first thought was concern.  "Why would a policeman come to my door in the early afternoon?" I worried.

I got to the door before he did and opened it quickly.  "Good afternoon sir," he started, "I want to ask you real quickly if you have small children at home?" (Thank God, it's not me, I literally thought.)  "No sir," I said, "Is something the matter?"  He then went into an explanation that the 911 dispatchers were getting prank calls from cell phones that went something like this, "911, what's your emergency?" "Yeah, I'd like to order a pepperoni pizza," and then they would hang up.  "We tried to 'ping' it and it came to this address," he said. 

When he told me that, I pointed to the elementary school across the street.  "There is the source of your 911 call," I said.  "It's the same address, different street and the cafeteria is directly across from my house. That's where kids are pulling out their cell phones and calling you."  He looked, shook his head, and said, "The dispatchers hate those kinds of calls." 

911 was developed to be a simple system, easy to remember, to help us in times of distress. Our emergency system has seen an increase in that kind of phenomenon nationally according to the news.  Back in land-line days, you'd be caught before you could hang up, but in days where you can enter the code to mask your number and dial 911, you can prank call first responders. 

Spiritually, our 911 is G-O-D. David demonstrates that often in the psalms.  "Out of my distress I called on the LORD, the LORD answered me and set me free.  The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?  The LORD is on my side as my helper, I shall look in triumph on those who hate me." (Psalm 118:5 - 7)

Paul writes in Romans 8 that "the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." (8:26) God sifts through our thoughts.  God knows our true needs.  God hears our prayers of distress, and ultimately, God will deliver us from our distress through his Son Jesus Christ.  Christ is our source of peace even in difficult times.  Those who rise against us, for actions we commit or through their own hate, will not have victory over us.  Through Christ, we have victory over sin, Satan, and death.  God, hear our prayers when we are in distress and give us peace.

Hope Men's Ministry

No comments:

Post a Comment