God Listens to us Seriously

Background: A lot of kings have changed since the time David was king, Israel and Judah have separated themselves after David passed away (they just wanted different kings). The Israelites have changed a lot. The recent kings, during the time Elisha has been the prophet, haven't shown any signs of devotion to the Living God like David did. During such a time the Bible records in 2 Kings 8:16-19 "16 In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 18 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. 19 Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever. " What caught my eyes is this "19 Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever. " Just that verse alone says so many things about our Lord God Almighty the Maker of heaven and earth.

Lessons I learnt

1. Our Lord's faithfulness surpasses our lifetime- Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. As we sow our lives in God and make every effort to love Him as He loved us, we can be rest assured our God will take care of our following generations. Isn't that (as we all have experienced Jesus as Lord of our lives know) the most beautiful and precious gift we could leave for our children, and their children's children. David has long gone, but God remembered His promise to David much much after he was gone.
2. Our God's Love endures forever- People may love you today, for whatever reason they have, even our loved ones may love us for whatever reason they have, but when the reason is gone, the love goes with it, but not with our Living Lord, our God's Love endures forever. When I gave a search in the Bible online for the phrase "love endures forever" I found sooooooooooo many references and most of them are from David. This man knew that he knew that He had found a love that never fades, a love that never gives up on him, a love that is forgiving, a love that restores, a love that heals, a love that comforts and a love that endures(meaning:To carry on through, despite hardships; undergo OR also To bear with tolerance) Isn't that so wonderful.
3. What God has promised He is able to do-God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:18-20 Many a promise we would have received from people and they haven't made it. Many a times we've trusted a promise of a man or a company or a friend and it has failed us, but not with our Lord. When God promised Abraham he would be the father of many nations, little did he know how many nations God had on mind and aren't we all living witnesses of the effect of this promise to Abraham. No matter what country or language we are from, Abraham's blessing touched us wayyyyyyyyy out there. And lets not forget about the vast difference in centuries and continents and languages and climates and distances and yet, God's promise to Abraham didn't fail. Abraham is my father of faith, in a way his story of obedience taught me faith.

Conclusion: In this world of selfishness and hypocrisy, even among believers, there is a God whom you can trust your life with. A God who cares for you and thinks about you daily.Did you know that? God cares for you daily. The psalmist writes "Psalm 68:19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Selah" and what were we thinking. David responded beautifully when he came to know the promise of God's faithfulness to his family and to his children and their children and the whole generation after him.(2 Samuel 7) Little did David know, how seriously God had considered the words he spoke before God that day (mentioned in 2 Samuel 7) when he went into a room and prayed 27 "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.' So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer. 28 O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant. 29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever." 2 Samuel 7:27-29.

We have talked about God watching over us, but the verse that David wrote reads like this "Psalm 34:15

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;"