Seen and Heard

Agnosticism and atheism.

Agnostics are people who "don't know" whether God exists or not. Agnosticism contends such knowledge (gnosis) is not possible.

Atheism takes it a step further: God does not exist.

As Christians, we are convinced of something different. Sometimes when I'm feeling really convinced, I even wonder how such thoughts can be reasonable. In those moments I want to shout and sing with the Psalmist:

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory. (Psalm 63:2 NIV)

But...

...there are other times it is only reasonable that doubts and questions would creep into our minds.

Job loss.

Death of a loved one.

A dryness in my spirit.

Feeling cut off from things or people that deliver God's grace into my life.

I think it was to that person in this second category that Psalm 94:9 speaks so powerfully:

Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?

I love those questions.

Go back and read them slowly.

Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?

Now ask yourself, "What do I really enjoy hearing?"

A child's laughter.

A really good piece of music or a song with a catchy tune.

A can of ice cold cola popping on a summer's day.

The crack of a baseball bat.

The sound of the waves against the shore or a brook that gently laps against the stones.

The GPS when it says, "You have reached your destination" as I pull into my driveway after a long trip.

I wonder if those sounds might be insight into the One who implanted the ear.

Just as surely as I hear and enjoy those sounds, you just can't convince me Someone didn't know I'd appreciate them. Sometimes every fiber of my being has to say, "Thank you!" for these great sounds.

Even if I wasn't a Christian, I'd have to say "Thank you" to Someone. Do you ever feel like that?

Now ask yourself, "What do I really enjoy seeing?"

The welcoming arms of a loved one I haven't seen in awhile.

The Rocky Mountains as their peaks begin to peek over the front of the hood of the family minivan.

Blue skies and big fluffy white clouds.

A rising thermometer.

Dropping numbers on the bathroom scales.

Those are just some of the things I have enjoyed seeing at some point in my past. Things I'd like to see again.

I am reminded that if I can see them, then surely the One who so generously and creatively planned to give me eyes to see them and the ability to enjoy them, sees too. Is it conceivable that for he who formed the eye to not see?

Which must mean God sees the crummy things too. The lost job. The death. The illness. The isolation. When we have been horrible to each other. When we've been greedy or thoughtless.

Have you ever had someone come up to you in a horrible mood and they start spilling their guts to you? You sit there for a few moments without saying a thing. Then the other person ends by saying, "Thanks for listening. I feel so much better."

What did you do? Just listen.

Maybe that person only needed to know they were heard.

I think that is one function of Psalm 94:9. It is God's way of saying, "I hear you and I see you. You have not been forgotten."

If you'd allow me, I want to assure you that you have been seen and heard today.

Grace & peace