God Pays Attention

Text: “I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4).

Can you recall a time in your life when you called upon the Lord and He did not answer you? Some people would answer yes to that question. On the other hand, others would say the Lord always responded in some way in their need of help.

Speaking for myself, I can not recall a single time when I called to the Lord and did not receive an answer. Let me make it clear that His answer has not always been the answer that I wanted to hear and at times I felt let down and disappointed. However, when I thought about what I had asked for or what I wanted from Him, I realized that what I received or did not receive was in my best interest.

What we want is not always what we need. Our wants are not the same as our needs. During the time of raising our children, there were times when they wanted something or wanted to do something, but as parents, we could see the big picture and knew this was not in their best interest; therefore, their want was not fulfilled.

Adults have wants that get them into trouble. For example, an individual wants to buy this beautiful expensive car with all the bells and whistles. His family tries to talk him out of the deal, but the salesman convinces him that he can handle the payments of $800.00 per month. He proceeds to buy the car, but after a couple of months of payments, he realizes his money is not stretching. He cannot make the payments and no matter how much praying he does, the money does not fall from heaven.

His mistake was in not talking to the Lord before he bought the car. If he had talked to the Lord, there is a very good possibility the little voice inside him would have set his mind to thinking a little deeper. When we speak to God, He always listens and He always answers. The problem lies with us in that we either do not speak or ask, and if we do, we do not listen to His answer.

Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

In other words, we are not to give up speaking to God. We are to continue seeking Him. He is always with us. If we don’t get an answer the first time, we are not to give up. Our faith eventually kicks in and allows us to continue asking and seeking and when this happens, Jesus will come forth with what is best for us.

Whenever we call upon God, we can rest assured that He does pay attention and His response to us will be beneficial to us. As God’s children, He has promised us many blessings.

Our Scripture tells us that God blesses us with deliverance from fear (verse 4). When David wrote this psalm, He was in the process of fleeing from Saul who tried to kill him with a spear. David’s wife helped him escape Saul. And David’s wife said to him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed” (1 Samuel 19:11). She helped David escape by letting him down through a window.

David fled to King Achish, but the servants of King Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?'” (1 Samuel 21:11).

Remember that David killed Goliath and other Philistines, but still he fled to King Achish who was king of the Philistine territory of Gath. Gath is where Goliath lived and it was located about 30 miles from Jerusalem.

When King Achish’s servants brought to his attention the fact David killed so many Philistines, David became frightened and fearful. David came up with a beautiful idea to save himself. He thought if he pretended to be insane, King Achish would not harm him.

This was a good thought because during that period of time in history, insane people were thought to be an evil sign. They were not harmed or they were exempt from harm, so as not to make the gods angry.

This strategy of David’s worked. He was able to escape the hand of the king. Although David was in danger, he looked to God and trusted that Almighty God would take care of him. God never forgot David. God did not hold a grudge against David. David was a child of God and God never left him.