A mix of history and tradition brings us the touching story of George Washington and his beleaguered troops at Valley Forge. Weather beaten, shoeless, hungry and tired, many had lost hope. Writing a letter requesting reinforcements, supplies and food, George Washington poured out his heart to the intended recipient, The Continental Congress. It is told that at the end of the note as a poignant postscript accompanying his signature, he added the words, “Is anybody there? Does anybody care?”
Among the most moving words found in scripture are those spoken by David in Psalm 142:4 where he said, “I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” I can sense David’s despair even as I rewrite his agonizing statement.
At some point, we all wonder about it.
Who knows?
Who listens?
Who cares?
Admiration and popularity are fleeting. When your ship has come in, you can be met at the dock with friends you didn’t even know you had. Jesus experienced that himself when word spread about His mass production of the loaves and fish, and how He fed the 5,000 hungry people. Not long afterward however, He knelt alone in the Garden of Gethsemane while his closest disciples slept the hours away.
Human nature?
I suppose so.
Thankfully, in our walk with God, we are not left to the frailties and unconcern of human nature. God knows and Jesus cares.
It’s interesting that in another passage after David experiences ultimate disappointment in men, he expresses overwhelming confidence in God. Confidence in His omniscience, His omnipotence, and His omnipresence.
Read carefully the passage found in Psalm 139:8-10 as he described his confidence in God’s awesome power and ability: “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. (9) If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; (10) even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”
Then in Psalm 34:6, you can almost hear his rejoicing voice declare the words, “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”
What a swing in confidence! From little to no confidence in men to full and complete confidence in God. David is representative of many of us, for we also have discovered that no one really cares like Jesus.
An old hymn sums it up pretty well …
Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?
Then the chorus proclaims aloud the firm answer …
Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, and the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
What a beautiful song. Even more, what a beautiful thought. But also remember that Jesus cares through you. He reaches through your hands and walks within your steps in order to touch the lives of others.
Be available for Him to use the next time someone is asking, “Is anybody listening and does anybody care?”
Tim Hill
