Call unto me...

Psalm 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me."

Psalm 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.

When I was 17 years old I went with a group of friends to climb the Gran Teton mountain in Wyoming.  It is a popular mountain to climb but it also has some dangerous areas in the climb.

It took our group 2 days to make it to the top and after a short time there we started our descent.  On the way down I became separated from the group and decided to take a short cut by sliding down a large field of ice.  I had a plan that I thought would work. I thought I could straddle to edge of the ice field with one leg over the side of the edge that I could use as a brake as I slid down the edge.  My plan was a fail! Within the first couple of feet sliding down the edge, I moved away from the edge and found myself sliding down the center of the ice field.  There was nothing I could do to stop me from sliding and my speed increased as I headed toward the bottom.  At the bottom of the ice field were huge rocks 4 to 5 feet tall.  I knew I was headed for trouble.  Just prior to impacting the large rock in front of me, I braced myself by extending my legs straight out in front of me.  I remember crying out to God and said, “God save me!”  I struck the rock and did a complete somersault over it and landed on my back.  I was carrying my backpack so my fall was cushioned by it and I was miraculously spared injury.  When I stood to my feet my legs were violently shaking, and I was grateful to be alive.

When I called upon God, he delivered me.  This incident became a turning point in my life.  Prior to this my life was involved with different activities, some good and others not good.  My relationship with God was not one of intimacy even though I attended church on a regular basis.  God needed to get my attention to get me on a different pathway.  Shortly after returning from the climb, I enlisted in the US army and was trained to be a medical corpsman.  During my training, I began to read my bible and meet with other soldiers who were believers following the Lord. God was transforming my life and preparing me for the future that was unknown to me at the time.

God has ways of getting our attention so we can hear what he wants us to communicate to us. 

Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac when the angel of the Lord called to him

⁰ Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Genesis 22:10-11

Moses had a burning bush that God used to get his attention.

³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” ⁴ When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Exodus 3:3-4

 Moses responded by saying, “Here am I” which meant I am available to do what you want me to do. 

The Apostle Paul had the bright light that knocked him to the ground.

And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” Acts 9:4-5

He knew someone more powerful than he, was getting his attention.  God used these dramatic ways to not only get their attention but give them direction for the rest of their lives.

There is a new movie that has recently been released called, “After death”.  It is a documentary about near death and death experiencing people have had.  One of the stories was of a man who had been a horrible husband and father.  When he died he was met by 4 beings dressed in black robes.  He was transported in a dark tunnel that descended into what he described as an endless abyss.  He knew he was on his way to hell and was hopeless to make the journey end.  He remembered that when he was young, he went to Sunday school and learned about Jesus.  All he could think of at the time was to call out to Jesus for help and immediately afterward he was suddenly transported back to his lifeless body and came back to life.  His powerful testimony was rejected by his wife and child who thought he was crazy.  His life radically changed by this experience, and he became a pastor of a church.

God is everywhere present in our lives.  He will never forsake us or abandon us.  We can always count on his faithfulness.  Our faith rests in his faithfulness to be who he is and do what he promises to do.  He is the Great I am, never changing his character or nature.

¹⁷ And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Genesis 21:17

He is near to the broken hearted.  Just as he heard the call of Hagar when she was sent away from Sarah and Abraham, he is present in our times of trouble, rejection and discouragement.  When we call upon him, he will answer and either deliver us or be with us through whatever difficulty we face.

Blind Bartimaeus called out to Jesus, Son of David to have mercy on him. Jesus heard his plea and restored his sight. Mark 10:47

We are entering into perilous times as we see the denigration of the world that is under the power of the evil one.  The situation in Israel today as well as in other parts of the world are creating difficulties for everyone.  In spite of what we see, we have the comfort and assurance that God is our refuge and help in times of trouble.  We need more than ever to be in tune to what God is saying to us each day.  He wants to get our attention and keep our attention so we can hear what he wants to say to us.  We are confronted with many distractions today especially with the media that is available 24/7.  Countless hours of the day can be consumed by filling our minds with words, images, information that are not healthy and can bring discouragement or waste the time God has given us to be about his work.  When I worked with students in our Discipleship Training School, I encouraged them to take a different understanding of Facebook.  Rather than be spending time viewing their Facebook page, I encouraged them to have their face in the book, God’s word.

God wants us to call upon him, he wants to be involved in our daily lives.  He is often relegated to the God of crisis moments but not the God of our daily activities.  How conscious are you of God throughout the day?  Does your life revolve around God or does God revolve around your life?  I want to encourage you today to begin to take time to reflect upon God throughout the day.  Allow God to speak to you throughout the day in your activities. Brother Lawrence was a monk who wrote a book called “Practicing the Presence of God.”  He learned how to connect with God in the different activities he did throughout the day, one of which was washing dishes.  Our communication with God need not be only when we read the scriptures or when we pray.  God can speak to us in a variety of ways if we are sensitive to hear his voice. 

One of the YWAM leaders gave an example in his life of how God used a message on the side of a beer truck to speak to him.  He was very discouraged about the ministry he was involved in with YWAM that used a ship.  Things were not going well and he was ready to quit and give up the ship.  He was calling out to God for direction regarding what he should do.  As he was driving his car a beer truck drove by him and the message on the side of it was, “Don’t give up the ship.”  He believed that God used that message to speak directly to him and as a result he continued the ministry.

God hears the cries of our heart for wisdom, guidance, encouragement, counsel, deliverance etc.  He will speak to us as we tune our spiritual ears to hear his voice throughout the day in our daily activities. Get connected and stay connected with God throughout the day.