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I’ve read Jeremiah 33:3 before, (NKJV) “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” But the other day I heard this verse from the Amplified version which reads, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.’ I kind of laughed out loud, because the visual I got of this verse is that God is available to us, 24/7, and we fail to utilize that to our best advantage, but we’ll sit on hold forever to speak to a customer service rep who we ‘do not know OR understand,’ who sometimes can’t help us anyway.  

You know why we get frustrated with customer service agents? Because they’re human. They aren’t perfect, they can’t perform miracles and they don’t love us or care for us. But God IS perfect, He CAN perform miracles and He DOES love us and care for us. God does not disappoint. Some would argue with that saying that “He let my child get cancer. How is that not disappointing?” I’ve not had to deal with that exact scenario, but my daughter was born with hearing loss and at age 4, went completely deaf in one ear. With no clear reason as to why, and needing someone to blame, I could have easily have taken it out on God.  My husband and I were devastated, hurt, maybe even angry…I don’t remember. But a friend of mine said, “Sheryl, you never know. Maybe God will use her to witness to the deaf community.” We don’t know God’s plans or what path He has laid out for us or our children. All we can do is trust in His word that says He can take something meant for evil and turn it for good (Rom. 8:28) and that He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us. (Jer. 29:11) My daughter is in college now, has done well all through school and has always been secure in who she is. What more could I ask for? 

“Call to me and I will answer you.” God has a Hotline and it’s always available, day or night, and you’ll never be put on hold. BUT…the only thing this verse assures us of is that He will answer…it doesn’t say when or how. We get so impatient with our prayers. We want to see results immediately, and sometimes we do, but that’s not how God works. His ways are not our ways and His timing is not our timing. God likes to weave, and sometimes He might be weaving your prayer request with someone else’s prayer, who you may not even know, in order for His perfect will to be done for both.  Yes, HIS perfect will…that means that the answer to your prayer may not be the one you planned or asked for, but what is best. Garth Brooks put it in a song lyric, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”