Sirach 2:10-11 “Consider the generations of old and see: has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed? Or has anyone persevered in the fear of the Lord and been forsaken? Or has anyone called upon him and been neglected? For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of distress.” Today's episode talks to us about Wisdom. It talks to us about how the Lord has always been there for us and will always be there for us. It also explores the topic of us not coming to the Lord for prayer because we don't feel worthy. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Wisdom for Beginners (Part 5)
Sirach 2:10-11 “Consider the generations of old and see: has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed? Or has anyone persevered in the fear of the Lord and been forsaken? Or has anyone called upon him and been neglected? For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of distress.”
This is the last verse in the section called Wisdom for Beginners. I think that it is fitting that it reminds us of how faithful our Lord has been. It begins with “Consider the generations of old and see: has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?” This is such a great thing to get in the habit of doing. When we are worried, stressed, or think the Lord has abandoned us, we can look back at our own lives and those who came before us and see if the Lord ever abandoned them. Has He ever abandoned us in the past?
Has there been a time when we trusted in the Lord and He let us down or disappointed us? Has there been a time when we trusted in the Lord and yet after we did we realized that we shouldn’t have put our trust in Him? Romans 10:11 says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” You can trust in the Lord. You can believe His promises. You can trust that He will always be there for you.
Next, it says, “Or has anyone persevered in the fear of the Lord and been forsaken?” We just talked about fear of the Lord the other day and how that doesn’t mean that we are afraid of the Lord; it means that we look up to the Lord with awe and reverence. It says in Psalm 111:10: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It also says in Proverbs 14:26-27: "He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.” When we have fear of the Lord, we are protected by Him. He is not only looking out for us, but He is looking out for our families as well. Our faithfulness and fear of the Lord will bear fruit for many generations.
Next, it says, “Has anyone called upon Him and been neglected?” What about this one? Have you ever called out to the Lord, and He just ignored you? Have you ever needed Him, and He left you abandoned? The Lord does not do that. When we call out, He comes running. He sends His angels to fly to us at light speed. He does not leave us out in the cold. He does not hear us call out to Him and yet ignores us because He has more important things to do. God has nothing more important to do than to come when you call.
I want to take a minute to talk about something because we must realize this. God is not limited by the same constraints of time as we are. I have been talking with someone recently who doesn’t ever want me to pray over him for healing. I was saying that I didn’t think this person believed that they could be healed by someone praying over them. They said that wasn’t true. They said it was just that they didn’t feel worthy and that God had other more important people to heal.
I understand what this person was saying, and if this is what you are thinking too, then I want you to hear me when I say, “God has nothing more important to do than to heal you, or be with you, or answer your prayers.” God can be with each one of us fully and completely, and it won’t take away from anyone else. I first realized this when I heard a priest tell a story at a retreat one time. He said he was at a football game, and someone took a photo of him saying the rosary at a football game. The caption for the photo was something like, “Father is praying for the football game when there are bigger things we need to pray for, like people dying of cancer.”
The priest said that if we think our God can’t be there at the football game and healing people with cancer at the same time, then our view of God is too small. When we limit God like this, we are putting Him in a box and saying that we don’t believe He is all-powerful. Either He is omnipotent and omnipresent, or He isn’t. An omnipresent god is a god with the ability to be everywhere all at once. If we believe that God is omnipresent, then He can be everywhere all at the same time. He can be healing you or answering your prayers wherever you are located, and He can be on all the other continents, healing people and answering your prayers, too! An omniscient God is a God who knows everything. Such a God would have the power to know the future, the present, and the past. God knows what you are going through, He knows what you have been through, and He knows what you are going to face in the future. God knows everything about you. An omnipotent God is a God with unlimited power. This means God has the power to heal you and everyone else that needs to be healed. It means that healing you doesn’t take away from anyone else’s healing.
I think it is so important to understand this because we might think we are being humble by not asking God for healing. We think we are being selfless and giving up our healing so that someone else who needs healing can get it. However, what we are actually doing is just missing out on our healing because we don’t want to ask for it. We are missing out on our healing because we are placing God in a box and telling Him that we don’t really believe that he is omnipotent or omnipresent. We are telling God that His powers are limited, and so we want Him to save His strength so He can heal someone else who needs it more.
Don’t miss out on all God has to offer you because you feel you are unworthy. We were all unworthy and then Jesus died on the cross to make us worthy. God loves you more than you know. You mean more to Him than you could ever know. He does not want to watch you suffer just because you think you aren’t worthy. He wants to heal you, let Him!
The last line says, “For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of distress.” This last line is important for us all to remember. God is compassionate and merciful. He sees you. He sees the situation you are in, and He can help you. He wants to help you. He knows the pain you are feeling, and He can relieve that pain if you just ask. The Lord can forgive sins. Don’t be afraid to bring your sins to Him. He can forgive them! Just come to Him and admit what you have done. He will forgive you, and you will feel so much better. I know you feel like what you have done is too bad to be forgiven. Yet, nothing is too bad to be forgiven in the eyes of the Lord. He is compassionate and merciful. He forgives sin and saves in times of distress. All you have to do is come to Him.
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening today. Lord, we love you, and we trust you. We trust that when we call, you will answer. We trust our lives to you. We trust our sins to you. We trust all to you, Lord. We ask you to help us in all areas of our lives. We invite you in and ask you to help us, Lord. Lord, I ask that you help each person listening truly understand how much you love them and how much you want to heal them or answer their prayers. We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Mentoring is tonight if you would like to join us there is a link below. This month’s theme is the dark night of the soul. Remember Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day and may the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in April 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Speak my name often so that it just rolls off of your lips, no matter where you are and what you're doing, no matter who you are taking care of, no matter who you are touching, no matter what you are involved in. ”