The Name We Cry Out

“He has also set eternity in the human heart.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

A thought struck me recently.

Is there something innate within humanity that reaches for God?

There are people who don’t go to church, don’t identify as Christians, and may even say they don’t believe in God. Yet when something suddenly goes wrong, what so often comes from their lips?

“Oh God!”

“God, help us!”

“Jesus Christ!”

We hear it in movies. We hear it in moments of tragedy. We hear it in footage of disasters as people suddenly find themselves facing circumstances completely beyond their control.

Even the name of Jesus is used so commonly as an expression of shock, anger or pain that people can speak His name without ever stopping to consider the One whose name they are calling.

Of course, sometimes these expressions are simply cultural habits. Saying “Oh God” doesn’t necessarily mean someone consciously believes in Him.

But I wonder if there is something deeper worth considering.

The Bible tells us:

“He has also set eternity in the human heart.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

And in Acts, Paul spoke to people who did not know God and said:

“God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him.”
Acts 17:27

Perhaps there is something within the human heart that knows there must be something beyond what we can see.

Most of the time, we can convince ourselves that we are self-sufficient.

We have our plans.
Our abilities.
Our money.
Our technology.
Our doctors.
Our emergency services.
Our own strength.

Until suddenly we face something none of those things can fix.

The water rises.

The accident happens.

The diagnosis comes.

Someone we love is in danger.

And suddenly all our human resources seem terribly small.

Crisis has a way of stripping away the illusion that we are in control.

And when we reach the end of ourselves, something within us can begin reaching beyond ourselves.

Perhaps that is why the instinctive cry of so many people is simply:

“God, help me.”

There is a beautiful example of this in Peter.

Peter stepped out of the boat and walked toward Jesus on the water. But when he saw the wind and the waves, fear overwhelmed him and he began to sink.

There wasn’t time for an eloquent prayer.

There wasn’t time for carefully chosen religious words.

There were only three:

“Lord, save me!”
Matthew 14:30

And I love what happened next.

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.”
Matthew 14:31

Immediately.

Peter cried.

Jesus reached.

Maybe that tells us something about the heart of God as well as the heart of humanity.

God isn’t waiting for desperate people to find the perfect words.

He hears the cry.

Romans tells us that creation itself reveals something of its Creator, and Ecclesiastes tells us that eternity has been placed within the human heart.

Perhaps humanity’s instinct to look upward when everything around us is falling apart shouldn’t surprise us.

We were created by God.
We were created for God.
And somewhere deep within the human heart is a longing that nothing created can completely satisfy.

We may spend years depending upon ourselves.

We may ignore Him.

We may question Him.

Some may even deny that He exists.

Yet there are moments when our strength runs out and a cry escapes from somewhere deeper than our carefully constructed thoughts:

“God…”

And perhaps one of the greatest demonstrations of His mercy is this:

When someone finally cries His name, even if they haven’t spoken to Him for years, God has not forgotten theirs.

The God we instinctively reach for in our darkest moment is the God who has been reaching toward us all along.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13