"911-what is your emergency?"

I’ve only ever needed to call 911 a couple of times. My greatest emergency was when baby Gracie was sleeping and Chrysta and I ‘took a nap’ while Susie was at work. A small fire started on the kitchen stove filling the house with smoke. Fortunately Chrysta resisted the nap and we were still awake. I got the girls out of the house and called 911; I had the fire out before the firemen got there, but the smoke did the damage. I was glad 911 was there to answer my call for help.

Israel had rejected God; they had traded the glory of the living God for worthless idols made of wood and stone. People were living their lives to please themselves. Yet when disaster or trouble came they were quick to call on God for help just like we dial 911.

[27] They say to wood, 'You are my father,' and to stone, 'You gave me birth.' They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, 'Come and save us!'
[28] Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.
Jeremiah 2:27-28 (NIV)

How often are we just like the faithless people of Judah? We may not set up an idol and worship it as our god, but we have no time for God. We have turned our back on God; we busy ourselves with activity and forget about God. We’ve no time for church; we’re too busy to pray. We fall asleep reading the Bible but stay up late watching TV. Our lives are full of all kinds of activity and have crowded God out.

But then trouble comes. Fear grips our heart with the doctor’s report, the threat of a layoff, a natural disaster, or countless other unexpected difficulties and problems. Suddenly all the activity that was so important only moments ago vanish and all we can see is our emergency.

That’s when we remember God and we cry for help; we make a ‘911 prayer.’ What will we do when God responds to us as He did to Judah? Instead of responding as a loving father coming to our rescue, He rebukes us. Unlike the 911 operator God accepts calls all the time that are not an emergency. Shouldn’t we take time to connect with God everyday so we never need to fear that He would turn us away?