Heard

Recently my husband and I had an issue that required communication with a customer service representative at a store. When we walked up to the desk, the CSR did not speak to us nor did she welcome us. She simply stared, waiting for us to present our problem. When we presented it, she said nothing. Instead, she picked up the receipt we had placed before her and walked off, leaving us standing there. It took about thirty minutes for our problem to be resolved, but little communication occurred throughout the process. We just stood there, waiting and wondering, feeling as if we were the problem.

As we stood waiting, I felt like an intruder. I felt as if our request was considered ridiculous and unworthy of the time and effort necessary to resolve it. In the grand scheme of the store's finances, it probably was insignificant, but in the perspective of our budget, it was important. We needed the problem resolved, but the silence from the CSR and later from the manager left us believing we would be pushed aside and refused.

Now, this post is not a complaint about this particular business' customer service quality. In fact, I almost hesitate to share the story because I don't want that to be a focal point. But, this experience stands in such contrast to a Scripture passage I read just a couple of days after the incident that I cannot help but share the contrast.

You see, it's so much easier to send out a plea for help when we know we are being heard, truly listened to, and cared for. We never want to feel like a burden, but oh how we hunger to know we speak to someone who wants to listen and help!

Sometimes when I pray, I struggle to believe I am heard. Without an audible response or an immediate answer to my prayers, I feel like I did standing before that CSR. I am an invasion. A nuisance. Insignificant. Annoying. My little problem is nothing compared to the grand scheme of God's will and purpose. Shame creeps over me as I admit to such a struggle with prayer, and I know I need a reminder of the truth of God's character.

This is where the aforementioned Scripture passage hits home. In Psalm 6, David poured out his heartache to the Lord. He, too, needed to know he was heard. But unlike me, David did not feel like an insignificant, invasive nuisance. He, instead, believed God's character. He knew God. He knew God's love for him. Because of that, he was able to pen these words:

Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
The Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord receives my prayer. Psalm 6:8-9 (emphasis mine)

I knew the CSR did not care about me or my problem. I was an inconvenience to her. I was just another customer with a complaint. God, however, is nothing like that girl. I might not always hear the voice of the Lord or see immediate action when I come to Him, pleading with Him for resolution to a problem or an easing of my pain. Even so, I can be assured that He hears me. That He wants to hear me. He receives my prayers just as He did David's. I can trust His character just as David did, knowing He sent His Son because of His passionate love love for me. Whether I see an immediate response or not, I can know I am heard.

You are heard, too, even when it seems He is silent. Know this truth. Receive it. You are heard.