Answering the Call

This morning my quiet time was rather noisy. I started reading and the dog wanted out, I went back to reading and the doorbell rang, I finally got back to reading and the phone rang. Noisy mornings can be so frustrating but, God had a purpose in the noise. He wanted to get my attention. He wanted to talk to me about His calling for me and for you. You see, God calls all of us but the noise of day to day life gets in the way so we don’t always hear him and sometimes when we do, we have moved past the first call to the 3rd, 4th and even 50th call before we get that we are hearing from Him. So, how do we know he is calling and how can we be sure when we hear, that it is truly Him. I have a few thoughts on that, so pull up a chair and I will try to explain.
In the Old Testament God’s calling was usually pretty clear. He called Moses from a burning bush, Joseph in a dream and in many cases as with Noah and Abraham in normal day to day conversations. In New Testament times or the times we now live in, God uses the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Most of us find the Holy Spirit illusive to say the least. We think perhaps as we sit in prayer and hear a voice that it is just our conscious speaking, that it cannot possibly be God since he has so much more important work to do. What we forget is that God promised he would speak to us, if we would listen. The entire 2nd chapter of Acts tells us that God had a plan long before we would understand His Sons death. He wants nothing more than to stay in constant communication with us and He provided the Holy Spirit so that He could do just that. Galatians 4:6-7 tells us that God sent the Spirit into our hearts which cries out Father…so now we are God’s children and he will give us the blessings he has promised because we are his children. God promises if we cry out to him he will hear us and bless us. Ephesians 1:4-5 tells us that God has already chosen us, before the world was made He chose us. Because of His love, God had already decided to make us his own children through Jesus. That was what he wanted and what pleased him. Further on in the same chapter the bible tells us that God put his special mark of ownership on us by giving us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive what God has promised for his people (vs. 13-14). So, God is calling us.
If you have children you probably understand what I am talking about here. How many times has your child said your name, over and over and over again until you acknowledge them? The proverbial pull on the pants leg, Mom, Mom, Mom, until you finally look down or go into the room from which they are calling and they show you the same drawing but with a new color or the same movie but with a new frame or something all together new that they didn’t show you 2 minutes ago when you answered the last call. That is what God does for you. He calls your name over and over and over again, revealing His glory in sunrises and sunsets, new flowers in the pot on the back porch or new snow on the lawn or rain, washing the dirt from the sidewalk. Each time he is calling you saying, I am here as I promised, I am living in you and I am trying, through the noise of today to get your attention.
Romans chapter 8 talks our calling and the purpose of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 8:28 tells us that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. That we are the people he called, because that was his plan. So now we know we are being called. We know he will make good on His promises, at the end of Romans chapter 8 he tells us that nothing will separate us from his love. He protects us and he reminds us that He is the source of our blessings. All things come from Him, even pain and hardships. Priscilla Shirer in her study He Speaks to Me says “God will not share us with anything or anyone that takes our eyes off Him. He demands all of us.” She also goes on to say “God does not protect us from hardship and trouble; He protects us through them, even to heaven’s door.” Psalm 36 tells us that God protects His people in the shadow of His wings. David cried out for God’s protection time and time again and God said He would protect him. Max Lucado in his book The Applause of Heaven says, “Nothing occurs beyond the reach of God’s power, when you discover His strength you will rely on Him.” God’s power, through his gift of the Holy Spirit, lives in you. Acts 1:8 tells us that because the Holy Spirit resides in us, we have the power to be witnesses. God empowers us to live in a fallen world. Philippians 4:13 sums it up best, “I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.
So, in the noisiness of your day, if you can; stop for a minute and thank God for never giving up as He calls us. He will continue to call until we hear and he will remind us that he is next to us, providing protection, as the source of our strength, blessing us because he has promised and helping us make it through one more day. All he asks is that we listen and respond to his call. Luke 11: 28 says, “happy are those who hear the teaching of God and obey it”. Lord, help us to hear you and be obedient in what we hear today.


Praying that amidst the noise we each hear Him call today.
Love you all
Jane