Eliana Beth Garcia, my youngest granddaughter
God Knows Our Hurts and If Invited, Will Do Something About Them
From Habakkuk 1: 1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw. 2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgment comes forth perverted.2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you "Violence!" and you will not save?
Life in Jericho must have been interesting. Life around the chief tax collector must have also been interesting, to put it mildly. We don't know for sure that he cheated people out of money, but somehow, some way, he amassed a fortune. And it might possibly have been through hook and crook. The words of the minor prophet whom when in high school, a teacher at a youth retreat said he came to know him by a nickname to better remember him, "Have a Coke!" Please know this is not an ad for soft drinks, though they are sure refreshing on a hot day. The prophet saw a vision of people crying out to God for justice and satisfaction against violence and the destruction that accompanies it, as well as for answered prayers against those who brought strife and contention to them. They knew they were surrounded by wicked people, and staying righteous was not easy. It seemed as if prayers and cries to God were being unanswered. How rich can Zacchaeus get before You do something, O God?
If you tie this reading with the gospel reading for this week, Luke 19:1-10, you see the connection. Life in Jericho got very interesting the day Jesus visited and the day that Zach changed his life. Those who may have been cheated by this chief tax collector received their money back in four times the amount. The poor who had not known possessions of any kind that day received possessions from one who knew good things and had accumulated many. This was answered prayer. But the one who walked away with the greatest gift was old Zacchaeus himself. He walked away in a new relationship with God. He walked away with eternal security for he was saved. Where once Zach was counted among the lost, now he was counted among the found. Zach himself might have said, "I was blind, but now I see."
God answers prayers. All prayers are answered in God's time and in God's way. A God-sent no is better than a self-imposed yes. With time we understand why.
PRAYER: Lord, thank You for the gift of prayer. Grant to me deeper understanding of Your plan and purpose for my life. As you answer my prayers give me wisdom to understand. And while I may be praying for someone in my life to change, it may be me that needs a new attitude or understanding. So be it. Your will be done. I pray this in the name of He who changed Zacchaeus and changed me, Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio
P.S. The precious, crying baby is my Eliana. She and I turned one year older on the same day. Add some years to my one! ;)
