God's Phone Number

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3

You are a parent getting ready to embark on a road trip with your family. Your three sons and your daughter are driving the family's SUV while you and your spouse are behind them in a Semi Truck. On your journey you encounter bad weather and the roads begin to become icy and slick. As you are looking at the SUV in front of you, it begins to lose control on the icy roads. Just prior to leaving on your trip you prayed Jeremiah 33:3, asking for God's mercy and protection on your drive ahead. As the SUV begins to go sideways on the road you scream out, "Father, I need You, Lord! Stop this vehicle!" The SUV leaves the road and begins to go down the hill. You continue your prayers, "Father, in Jesus name, stop that vehicle!" The SUV comes to a stop just inches before it would have side-swiped a tree. The individual sharing the story said that Jeremiah 33:3 is "God's phone number." They said that God wants you to call out to Him and He will answer, He "will not put you into voicemail .... He answers immediately." It is always encouraging to hear testimonies of answered prayers, especially, when certain tragedy is averted. This testimony inspired another Christian to mention Jeremiah 29:12, which reads, "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." When I hear these testimonies and the verses people refer to that inspired them, my mind thinks of two questions; what is the opposite conclusion someone could reach from this testimony and what is the context of the verses being used? What do you say to those who call out to the Lord, but tragedy still strikes; the SUV slides off the road and hits the tree? We all know stories of people who suffered tremendous loss and been through unspeakable tragedies, whether through car accidents or various other tragic circumstances. Did they suffer because they didn't have "God's phone number" or did their prayer go to His "voicemail"? I am not trying to be funny or dismiss the blessing that comes from tragedy being averted. Give God the glory! But, when we give God praise can we be guilty of unintentionally misrepresenting Him in some way? When someone calls out to God and doesn't get the answer they want, how are they to feel about the God who says He loves them, but didn't "answer their call"? How do they reconcile the appearance that God answered one person's prayer for safety, but not their own? These are real questions that deserve an answer.

The context of Jeremiah 33:3 is the Lord telling Jeremiah to call on Him and He will reveal to Jeremiah what His plan is to restore the Jews in their fight against the Babylonians. Now, this doesn't negate the idea that we can't call on God in our time of need. The Bible tells us to, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7)." But, we need to make sure we are using verses properly and not giving the impression that calling on Him will result in things working out to our liking because we know that isn't always the case. As for the context of Jeremiah 29, it is similar to chapter 33 in that God is promising the Jews He will listen to them on the condition they are obedient to what He commanded them to do while in Babylon; settle down in the city, start families, make the city prosper (verses 5-7). So, what do you say to someone, specifically a Christian, who called out to God, but still suffered tragedy? Along with being as compassionate as possible, you tell the truth. That truth is to, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18)." This doesn't mean to give thanks that you suffered a tragedy or to be okay with the pain and suffering. It also doesn't mean that God is responsible for the suffering you experience or it is His will that you suffer.  It means to give thanks regardless of the circumstances. Now, it may take some time before the Lord can find a way to utilize these circumstances for our benefit. It has been said that, "The Lord is participating in our lives ... and as a participant, there often is a period of time that takes place for Him to do certain things." Think back to some event in your life that you struggled making sense of at the time it happened. However, later on in your life you looked back on that event and was able to see the good that came from it. It is in that span of time that we grow and mature which allows us to see the events of our lives in a different light. Many testimonies that people have about the Lord originate from terrible circumstances in their lives that God used to teach them truths about themselves, life or God Himself. In turn, we can use what we have learned to help others when they go through difficult circumstances. That is why it says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)." It is not about having "God's phone number" to call in our desperation for immediate action in circumstances beyond our control. It is asking God, "What can I be thankful for in these circumstances that will help me learn to trust and depend on You even more?" This is the truth that we are to call upon in our time of need.