But the Lord Will Not Answer

Scripture:
Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,
and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,
when panic strikes you like a storm,
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.
Proverbs 1:24-28

Observation: Wisdom cries out in the street, trying to teach everyone the true wisdom that comes from knowing the Lord. However, because the world has rejected to listen to this, Wisdom will ignore their cries when calamity strikes. She will mock and laugh at their fear. Even when they now want guidance, she will turn away and allow their previous attitudes to dictate their fate.

This is of course the metaphor of the Lord's relationship with those who reject him. He has shown them wisdom, shouted it from the mountaintops, and made this truth to reign over the earth for millennia ... that he is the Lord God almighty, and salvation comes from faith in Jesus Christ. Nearly everyone has heard this, and now we see that those who have rejected it are filled with fear. The calamity has come like a whirlwind, and the words that best describe their mental state are ... panic, distress, anguish.

And God says this ... I am laughing at you, mocking you, and I will not answer your cries for help. You - those who rejected me - will not find the Lord in your time of calamity.

Application: I am so thankful I live in the promise of verse 33 of this same section ... as one who listens to the Lord, I live in security without dread of disaster. However, I have prayed for others, desiring that the current global crisis would awaken many to Christ. It has and it still will. Yet the Lord also makes it clear that he not only allows people to choose to reject him, but also will not simply respond when those who have dug in deep to their rejection panic over the earthly catastrophe that decision creates.

The Lord has spent years attempting to correct the people in our region of the U.S. They have instead turned further and further away. Today, in the midst of disaster, we are the most fear-filled and anxious region of the U.S. The Lord is clear ... this is cause-and-effect. Reject wisdom, and fear the calamity. He proclaimed this as wise counsel 3,100 years ago, and no one now should be surprised that it is true.

Prayer: Lord, while I pray for those who are removed from you so that they may be called to know Jesus, I also pray 'thy will be done.' You have given us your wisdom, and many fools have refused it. May your truth now prevail in their lives as you would see it done. Amen.