Connecting with God

Many of you know I had an extremely minor surgical procedure this past week; I have the procedure repeated about every 6-7 months (my doctor already has me on her schedule for December to repeat the surgery). As part of my pre-op routine, Dr. Martinez scheduled a virtual visit with me on a Wednesday afternoon, but that appointment never took place. I logged in MyChart five minutes or so before my visit was to start and entered the virtual waiting room, and I waited and I waited and I waited. I ended up waiting nearly an hour and a half before giving up and logging off.

I called the urologist’s office first thing Thursday morning and told them I had a virtual appointment but the doctor never showed up. Well, they called me back a little while later, and I learned technical problems kept Dr. Martinez and me from connecting. She could see I was logged on and waiting for her; the office tried to call me while I was waiting, but the call never came through. Fortunately, the doctor said that since I’d had the procedure several times before, there wasn’t a problem with going ahead with the surgery without a pre-op appointment. (I wouldn’t have waited online nearly as long as I did, but I was extremely fearful I couldn’t have the procedure without that visit).

Technical difficulties often keep us from connecting with one another. How many times have you been talking with someone when the call dropped? Ever tried talking to someone without a good cell signal and she sounded like she was hiding in an underground cave? Have you been in a Zoom meeting when someone froze? How many people have had trouble watching our online services because of a problem either on our end or on theirs?

Fortunately, we have no such technical problems when we wish to connect to our God.

• “The LORD hears when I call to him” (Ps 4:3).
• “In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears” (Ps 18:6).
• “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears” (Ps 34:17).

No sitting and waiting to connect. No dropped calls. No sounding like the other person is on the far side of the moon.

Instead of a failed connection, we connect with a loving, powerful, and merciful God. We connect to take all our cares and anxieties to the One who can help. We connect to find new mercies for our sinfulness. We connect to plead for those whom we love. We connect in full assurance we are heard and answered according to the perfect will of a holy and just God.

Don’t miss that great connection. Connect with your God. Tell him how much you love him and extol his greatness. Ask for guidance. Appeal for mercy. Seek healing for the sick and blessings for the hurting. As you connect with God, you can leave every care behind, for he cares for you.

This article was originally written by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., for the weekly newsletter at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.