HE'LL ANSWER THE CALL

Time zones are not a problem for God—He invented them, and you can rest assured that nothing catches Him by surprise—nor will anything catch you that way when you have an ear for His heartbeat, for He freely gives wisdom to those in need of it.

Wise or not, those of you fifty or older will undoubtedly remember Flip Wilson and the 60’s television show “Laugh In”.  Among his numerous characters of renown, the comedian had one in particular whose mantra he continuously repeated:  “Here comes the judge, here comes the judge.”

Why do we even say that (more or less) in reality?  Because we are giving people warning that a person worthy of our respect will soon be in our midst, and we need to be sure we’re not doing something that would displease him, lest we be found in contempt of court.  It’s no different with Deity.

My wife likes the judge shows and I tolerate them, though I will unabashedly say that The Honorable Jeanine Pirro is my favorite.  What I especially don’t like about these shows is the disrespect that the litigants show toward the adjudicator.  I understand that much of it is probably staged (another peeve of mine), yet at the same time, it reflects the inward nature of those ill at ease and, unfortunately, helps to perpetuate that attitude towards any number of people in authority over us—especially divinity.

The first 14 verses of Asaph’s 50^th Psalm address these issues—God’s sovereignty over time and our need to treat spiritual royalty with respect, lest they reward us accordingly—but the 15^th verse in particular speaks to His answering the prayers of those that call upon Him, knowing in advance that He will be glorified in the result.

One such occurrence happened years ago when I sold lawn-care services for TruGreen-ChemLawn.  Our sales office was told at the beginning of that Thursday how if we met our (ludicrous) sales goal for the day, we could have a three day weekend with pay.  The grumbling started almost immediately, and I sharply rebuked a non-believing friend of mine.

“We will get this done in the authority of Jesus and to the glory of God.”  He just smiled and said, “Yeah, right.  It ain’t going to happen.”

As we entered the last hour the running total was looking very good in general, but far from where it needed to be for the desired goal to be met.  It seemed as though the cheese set before us by the corporate trappers would have its desired effect:  Make them work their heads off, raise revenue, while keeping costs down and even get more revenue in the next couple of days.  In that last hour, I had three sales—all respectable.  I took them over to the boss, who called the people back as part of protocol to make sure we weren’t selling to a box of rocks, or deceiving the customers. 

“It’s going to kick,” my “friend” said.

He was right.  He was also right when he said that about the next sale I got.  I was livid.  I was not going to see Satan snatch a victory away from the hands of my God.  While I was about to dial the phone, at 8:55 p.m., our fearless leader spoke.

“You guys really did amaziningly well, and you all deserve a lot of credit.  We only missed our goal by $600.”

With that, I breathed up a really fast prayer and flipped open my computer printout—and there it was—a guy with a multiple acre property.  I called.  He answered—he bought—one application—for $605!  I interrupted my boss with a yell and shot a glaring look over to my buddy, explaining what just happened.  The supervisor took my sale in his quivering hands and began to call the guy back.

“It’s going to kick,” Jimmy said.

“It is not, in the authority of Jesus,” I exclaimed.

All fifteen of us waited on pins and needles.  I could barely contain myself when I heard those words that told all of us the sale had gone through.  The second the phone went down, the screams went up, and I did something I never would have ever done otherwise.  I grabbed JP by both collars of his leather jacket and shook him repeatedly, telling him, “Didn’t I tell you—Didn’t I tell you?”  “Yes,” he smiled, “You sure did.  Praise God.”  Then I ceremoniously and symbolically danced on Satan’s head—something a fellow elder that I worked with understood. 

As I drove home moments later, well after dark, I was astounded to see that my face was literally glowing in the dark.  I knew that I had been in the presence of God.  I had called upon Him in my day of trouble—He delivered me—and I glorified Him in it.  As much peace as that gave me—and as much peace as such a plan will give you—when you determine to not work that way, you get the resulting torment instead.

The psalm goes on to talk about hypocrites and how God deals with them—I’ll give you a hint—it’s not pretty.

I remember when I attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL, and the Law School had just begun.  Shortly thereafter, its Dean was arrested for shoplifting a ballpoint pen from the student bookstore—that was hypocrisy, and deservedly, he lost his job.

Psalm 50 concludes by letting the reader know that although God may be silent for a time, it’s only for a time, and His lack of volume is not to be interpreted as His condoning your behavior.  It’s been said, ‘Vengeance is a dish best served cold.’  You’ll never know how or when, but you’ll know why.  Don’t risk it—do verse 15—and enjoy an abundance of peace and victory instead.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 50

New King James Version (NKJV)

A Psalm of Asaph.

 ¹ The Mighty One, God the LORD,
         Has spoken and called the earth
         From the rising of the sun to its going down.
 ² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
         God will shine forth.
 ³ Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
         A fire shall devour before Him,
         And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
      
 ⁴ He shall call to the heavens from above,
         And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
 ⁵ “Gather My saints together to Me,
         Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
 ⁶ Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
         For God Himself is Judge.  Selah
      
 ⁷ “Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
         O Israel, and I will testify against you;
         I am God, your God!
 ⁸ I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices
         Or your burnt offerings,
         Which are continually before Me.
 ⁹ I will not take a bull from your house,
         Nor goats out of your folds.
 ¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is Mine,
         And the cattle on a thousand hills.
 ¹¹ I know all the birds of the mountains,
         And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
      
 ¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
         For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
 ¹³ Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
         Or drink the blood of goats?
 ¹⁴ Offer to God thanksgiving,
         And pay your vows to the Most High.
 ¹⁵ Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
         I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
      
 ¹⁶ But to the wicked God says:
         “What right have you to declare My statutes,
         Or take My covenant in your mouth,
 ¹⁷ Seeing you hate instruction
         And cast My words behind you?
 ¹⁸ When you saw a thief, you consented^[a] with him,
         And have been a partaker with adulterers.
 ¹⁹ You give your mouth to evil,
         And your tongue frames deceit.
 ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother;
         You slander your own mother’s son.
 ²¹ These things you have done, and I kept silent;
         You thought that I was altogether like you;
         But I will rebuke you,
         And set them in order before your eyes.
      
 ²² “Now consider this, you who forget God,
         Lest I tear you in pieces,
         And there be none to deliver:
 ²³ Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
         And to him who orders his conduct aright
         I will show the salvation of God.”

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 50:18 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read ran.