A Lenten Reflection
The inclined ear
"Because He hath inclined His ear unto me".... it is a line out of one of the Psalms, and the imagery of it caught my eye, and reassured my heart.
He hath inclined His unto me....It brings to my mind times in the past when I was sick and in bed, barely able to speak loudly, and my Dad would bend down to catch every weak word I was feebly uttering up to him. I've had doctors too, lean down to catch soft mumbles when I would be at endless visits to Shriner's as a child; that gentle ear leaning down because what I said was important to them.
Another image comes to mind as well, of when I'd be in trouble as a child, and my parents would be questioning me...and out of shame, I ducked my head and stumbled over words and confessions; and they leaned close to hear them...and closer to receive me in forgiveness.
"I love the LORD, because He has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because He inclined His ear to me,
therefore I will call on Him as long as I live." (Psalm 116:1-2)
I was blessed, with loving parents, and I know not everyone is. But as greatly as my parents loved me (and they lavished love upon me, I was the only "their together" child of a Brady Bunch family, and the child they had when they were a little older)....I am comforted in the knowledge that God loves me even more. And for those who did not grow up with two loving parents, or perhaps not even one, take heart, my friends, you have a Father in heaven who gave everything to know and secure you, to show His abundant love to you, and to name you as His own child.
For that love was expressed by the unreserved rich gift of God's only begotten Son, Christ Jesus, very God of very God, given for you and I, that we might find our salvation in Him. God spared nothing in order to show you the depth of love that awaits you.
Just as my earthly cherished father would lean down to hear whispered confidences, little secrets, repentant confessions or weak pleadings when I was ill, God inclines His ear to us to catch every prayer, every hope, every sorrow. No matter how soft or feeble our prayers and cries might be, they are heard. And the moment we cry out to God we are answered. No heart felt grasping towards God is ignored, no repentant plea for forgiveness turned away... He loves us so dearly.
And as Christ, who walked those long weary steps towards Jerusalem, to the Cross that awaited, did so out of love for us, so surely will He hearken towards our prayers and supplications. He who loves us enough to have borne the lashes, the thorns and the nails for us, loves us enough to rescue and save us, if only we call out to Him in faith.
"Yet here is hope for everyone: Christ the Good Shepherd is standing by. If you will cry out to Him, though it be no louder than the pitiful bleating of the weakest lamb, He will hear and will come to your rescue at once."
~ William Gurnall
He inclines His ear to us, won't you call out to Him?
On towards the Cross,
-Beth Haynes Butler
The inclined ear
"Because He hath inclined His ear unto me".... it is a line out of one of the Psalms, and the imagery of it caught my eye, and reassured my heart.
He hath inclined His unto me....It brings to my mind times in the past when I was sick and in bed, barely able to speak loudly, and my Dad would bend down to catch every weak word I was feebly uttering up to him. I've had doctors too, lean down to catch soft mumbles when I would be at endless visits to Shriner's as a child; that gentle ear leaning down because what I said was important to them.
Another image comes to mind as well, of when I'd be in trouble as a child, and my parents would be questioning me...and out of shame, I ducked my head and stumbled over words and confessions; and they leaned close to hear them...and closer to receive me in forgiveness.
"I love the LORD, because He has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because He inclined His ear to me,
therefore I will call on Him as long as I live." (Psalm 116:1-2)
I was blessed, with loving parents, and I know not everyone is. But as greatly as my parents loved me (and they lavished love upon me, I was the only "their together" child of a Brady Bunch family, and the child they had when they were a little older)....I am comforted in the knowledge that God loves me even more. And for those who did not grow up with two loving parents, or perhaps not even one, take heart, my friends, you have a Father in heaven who gave everything to know and secure you, to show His abundant love to you, and to name you as His own child.
For that love was expressed by the unreserved rich gift of God's only begotten Son, Christ Jesus, very God of very God, given for you and I, that we might find our salvation in Him. God spared nothing in order to show you the depth of love that awaits you.
Just as my earthly cherished father would lean down to hear whispered confidences, little secrets, repentant confessions or weak pleadings when I was ill, God inclines His ear to us to catch every prayer, every hope, every sorrow. No matter how soft or feeble our prayers and cries might be, they are heard. And the moment we cry out to God we are answered. No heart felt grasping towards God is ignored, no repentant plea for forgiveness turned away... He loves us so dearly.
And as Christ, who walked those long weary steps towards Jerusalem, to the Cross that awaited, did so out of love for us, so surely will He hearken towards our prayers and supplications. He who loves us enough to have borne the lashes, the thorns and the nails for us, loves us enough to rescue and save us, if only we call out to Him in faith.
"Yet here is hope for everyone: Christ the Good Shepherd is standing by. If you will cry out to Him, though it be no louder than the pitiful bleating of the weakest lamb, He will hear and will come to your rescue at once."
~ William Gurnall
He inclines His ear to us, won't you call out to Him?
On towards the Cross,
-Beth Haynes Butler
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