I just got back from Forest Home…a great camp in the SoCal San Bernardino mountains. Sunday, while on a tour of the facilities, I ran into John Clarkson, a Forest Home staffer working in one of the camp’s kitchens. John was working getting lunch ready for about 500 junior high winter campers but his mind was busy trying to get wrapped around a repeated phrase in the Bible…
Here I Am!
When it was time for God to test Abraham’s faith with his son Isaac, he called for Abraham. Abraham replied, “Here I am!” (Genesis 22:1)
An angel calls for Jacob during a dream and his reply is simply, “Here I am!” (Genesis 31:11)
God calls Moses from the burning bush and his response is the same, “Here I am!” (Exodus 3:4)
When Samuel was just a boy serving the priest Eli in the temple, God woke him up calling his name. His response? “Here I am!”
What is your response when you feel the voice of God calling your name? When you feel that inner leading to go or do or say or act…what is your response? It’s so easy to respond with reasons why you’re not available or not willing or not ready. Of course there’s always outright rebellion but I think most of us are guilty instead of trying to delay our obedient response, which is of course…disobedience.
It seems a natural tendency to hesitate to step up when called. God’s plans for us tend to be big and scary. We hedge and fudge or squirm and twist and look away hoping He’ll get distracted and turn his gaze away. But He never does. He’s after your heart and He won’t stop until He gets it.
Many years from now, what will be remembered about your response to His voice? When He calls you, how will you answer?
Thanks John for the insight…and the challenge.
once again, great timing… i just read 1 Samuel 3 last night… and was just talking about it. i noticed some things in the passage that i’ve never noticed before. For example… the first 3 times that the Lord called him, it says that he “called Samuel”. But when Eli finally realizes that it must be the Lord calling Sam… and he tells Sam to say “Speak, I am listening.” so the funny thing i noticed, is that on the fourth time, it doesn’t say the Lord called… it says “The Lord CAME and STOOD there and called as the other times.” So what i got out of this was when we are finally at a place when we recognize where this calling is coming from… WHO it is who is calling… and we’re ready and willing to say “Hey, God, not only am i here… but i’m here to LISTEN and HEAR YOU… SPEAK to me.” Then He COMES.
How cool is that? HERE I AM LORD! SPEAK, YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING!