I feel sometimes the telephone is like Marmite – you can love it or hate it! Many, many years ago, there was a chorus sung in Sunday School called, “Ring up on the telephone to Jesus” and this caused me to think about our relationship with Jesus.
 
For one reason or another I’ve been having to contact various people and organisations by telephone and have been met with all sorts of irritations. I’m sure we can all recount those moments when we have been met with messages like, “I’m sorry, but you need another department, let me transfer you” – then the dreaded music! Finally, you get so speak to someone, only to be told you need to speak to someone else – “please hold and I’ll transfer you”. Really!!!
 
Or it may be, “I will give you seven options”. You then decide on option 4 which promptly asks you to choose out of another five options. You are then told, “We are experiencing high levels of calls at the moment, please wait” – more dreaded music.
 
It could even be a simple reply like, “Sorry, we can’t take your call, please try later”, only to find out that ‘later’ you get the same message! Maybe you’ve experienced where they have said, “Sorry there’s no-one here at the moment, try another time”. How frustrating, unhelpful and stress making it can be, particularly when all you need is some help, someone to actually talk to and someone who seems to care.
 
How true now are the words of that chorus, “Ring up on the telephone to Jesus”. Why? Because He’s always there to hear you, He doesn’t put you on hold or even play heavenly music! You get straight through; you can speak to Him directly and He hears you day and night. In the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah there are these words which applied to the captive Israelites, but are so relevant for us today - “Then you will call on Me and come and pray with Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart” – Jeremiah 29: 11-13.