Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“Can You Hear Me Now?”
“Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice?” – Proverbs 8:1

For the past ten years the television world has been graced with a series of commercials featuring a man approximately in his early to mid 30’s holding a cell phone to his ear and uttering the same five words every time; “Can you hear me now?” When these commercials first started airing, the Verizon® Wireless Corporation was barely the third largest wireless network in the United States. Their market share in the cell phone world percentage-wise was in the mid teens—today, they are the largest wireless network in the world. Now, to say that an advertising campaign is the sole reason for their success would really be stretching things but perhaps the phrase, “Can you hear me now?” can easily be replaced with, “Do you hear me roar?”
I am not here to be a commercial for a cell phone company…but there is something to be said for the way they flooded the airwaves with the simplest of concepts: We have the answer for what you need. For the past seven chapters countless verses have beckoned us to pay strict attention to the words and wisdom of not just simply a man, but a man given the mind of God to both govern and advise. So it begs the question of all of us…”Do I have your complete and full attention now?” Perhaps a better way to approach this is to ask the question, what does it take for God to get your complete and undivided attention? Tragedy? Sickness? Conflict? Financial crisis? Death?
I am astonished (or saddened more like it) that our human nature is either incredibly resilient to change or what is perhaps more toward the truth we are too stubbornly prideful to consider that God’s advise can truly be of use to our life. So…are you listening? Nick Thomas found himself at the age of 47 unemployed and under tremendous financial pressure. Though he had a successful career in the Air Force and the insurance business, some reversals had set him back and left him with no place to go. His wife, Liz, made their situation a matter of deep prayer. She was in church one morning, praying about their dilemma when she thought she could almost hear the words, "Make the mustard." Her family had a mustard recipe going back several generations when from when they lived in Russia and every Christmas she had made mustard as presents for her friends. She decided to give it a try. She prepared a substantial amount and called on a local cheese shop. The manager tasted it and immediately bought out their inventory. Within three months they had cracked the highly competitive major New York Deli market. Because the Thomases committed their troubles to prayer, looked to God for guidance, and committed themselves to listening......He gave them the direction they were needing.
So…what would it take for God to get you attention? If you were to receive an answer to a dilemma in your life would you believe that God truly hears our prayer? If you had the kind of faith that could indeed move a mountain would the words, “Can you hear me now?” change your perspective on what He will do for you today? Take a chance!
Pastor J. T. Carnell