We listen in shock to reports of medical personnel forced to assign degrees of urgency, deciding the order In which people will be seen and treated. Or not.
God doesn’t do triage. The cry of a young mom overwhelmed by the chaos of children who are normally in school is not pushed aside while God listens to the prayer of a child in a hospital bed separated from his family.
Jesus breathed His last and “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Matthew 26:51) The curtain that had separated the Holy of Holies—the dwelling place of God on earth—from the rest of the unholy, unclean world ripped in half.
The first time I read that passage and understood its symbolism—that Jesus’s sacrifice meant we can have direct access to God—I was blown away. But then, this Easter, someone opened my eyes to a broader understanding. The torn curtain also meant God’s Spirit was released into the world. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter Jesus promised, would soon indwell believers, and would intercede for us. Giving us constant, 24/7, immediate access to our Father.
God doesn’t do triage. He doesn’t make us wait to be seen. He is El Roi, “the God Who sees me.” He is all-knowing. He knows the cries of our heart before they form on our lips. He hears us. “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.” 1 John 5:14 He doesn’t tell us to take a number and wait in the hallway, or tell us our problem isn’t serious enough to warrant His attention.
Whatever you are struggling with, your access to God is guaranteed. Your problem is important to Him. He hears you.
Are you taking comfort from this truth right now, or finding it hard to believe?