Living on the Edge of Whoville
"The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles." Psalm 34:17
Do you remember Horton Hears a Who?
The story is so relevant to our world today. There are voices of those in need all around us, but we often don’t seem to hear them.
I was convicted of this in my own life recently while reaching out to meet the needs of someone I heard about through a friend. In the busyness of my preparation, I stopped. It was as though God whispered quietly to my heart, telling me there was someone in need much closer to me, someone in my own home.
“How long will you ignore the cries,” God's voice whispered to my heart.
It was at that moment that I realized I had been like all of the other naysayers in Horton's life--deaf to the very real voices crying out for help in Whoville. I might as well have been shouting, “Boil that dust speck! Boil that dust speck!” For my apathy, my failure to care for the needs closest to me, within my own family, was such a blatant disregard for the things of God.
In Acts 7:51, Stephen is speaking before the Sanhedrin when he says, “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!"
I think he's speaking to us, too.
It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon for the latest popular cause, and I’m not saying we shouldn’t do that. But, what about the need we walk past every day without giving a second thought? What about the person we wrote off long ago? What about the beggar you pass on the street going to work? What about the family member who makes foolish decisions time after time after time? Or, the person who seems intentional to offend you at every opportunity? Maybe, just maybe, there is a deeper need there, and the Holy Spirit is gently nudging, quietly whispering to your heart to engage, to take a chance, to risk doing things His way.
“We are here!”
Do you hear them?
I pray that you and I would hear them--really hear them today.
The story is so relevant to our world today. There are voices of those in need all around us, but we often don’t seem to hear them.
I was convicted of this in my own life recently while reaching out to meet the needs of someone I heard about through a friend. In the busyness of my preparation, I stopped. It was as though God whispered quietly to my heart, telling me there was someone in need much closer to me, someone in my own home.
“How long will you ignore the cries,” God's voice whispered to my heart.
It was at that moment that I realized I had been like all of the other naysayers in Horton's life--deaf to the very real voices crying out for help in Whoville. I might as well have been shouting, “Boil that dust speck! Boil that dust speck!” For my apathy, my failure to care for the needs closest to me, within my own family, was such a blatant disregard for the things of God.
In Acts 7:51, Stephen is speaking before the Sanhedrin when he says, “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!"
I think he's speaking to us, too.
It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon for the latest popular cause, and I’m not saying we shouldn’t do that. But, what about the need we walk past every day without giving a second thought? What about the person we wrote off long ago? What about the beggar you pass on the street going to work? What about the family member who makes foolish decisions time after time after time? Or, the person who seems intentional to offend you at every opportunity? Maybe, just maybe, there is a deeper need there, and the Holy Spirit is gently nudging, quietly whispering to your heart to engage, to take a chance, to risk doing things His way.
“We are here!”
Do you hear them?
I pray that you and I would hear them--really hear them today.
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