A God who Hears His People's Cries
Exd 6:5-8 NLT - [5] You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. I have remembered my covenant with them. [6] "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will free you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with mighty power and great acts of judgment. [7] I will make you my own special people, and I will be your God. And you will know that I am the LORD your God who has rescued you from your slavery in Egypt. [8] I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It will be your very own property. I am the LORD!' "
As we see the devastating situation in Japan unfold, we as a society inevitably ask the inevitable question: where is God? Why doesn't He hear us? That is the great question of old. It is the cause of atheism, agnosticism, and apathy towards religion. The thought that there is no God or no God who cares for humanity is a frightening one. How are we to know there is a God listening to us during times like these? How are we to know whether our cries dissipate in a dark void with no one on the other side?
The simplest explanation cannot arrive by philosophical argument; it must come from experience. I have seen the Lord hear His people's cries firsthand. Almost 13 years ago a tornado wrecked our entire community, and were it not for the grace of God, a group of young children and children ministers would not have been in the only room left standing. There were stories of miracles and angels, of things apart from the natural order of things. There are countless tales all throughout humanity of divine intervention, of a God who hears His people's cries and responds.
Look to the Israelites. When the Lord calls Moses to the mountain, He proclaims, "You can be sure that I have heard the groans of the people of Israel, who are now slaves to the Egyptians. I have remembered my covenant with them." I love this verse. Moses' unique writing method often applies human attributes to God. We can picture God literally hearing the groaning of His people with some infinite celestial ear. This is how we ought to think about God during the times of trouble, when we scream to God and do not receive an answer. His ear is surely large enough to hear you. Yet it is often in our times of greatest desperation that God answers us. Why? Who can say? It is the resolve of God to test us to strengthen our faith and to bring Him glory. God often uses the pain existent in the world from sin as a method of redirecting badness into goodness. He is like the chef who can take burnt food and somehow transform it into a delicious and edible dish. Remember that when you are shouting out to God. He hears you, and He is planning something wonderful for the cause of Christ!
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