Resources/Articles
When The Phone Rings
When a phone rings, we are anxious to look at the number and see who is calling. If we recognize the number and favor the one whose number it is, we will immediately answer. For those calls we do not favor, most people will let the voicemail answer the call. Responding to a call seems as though it depends upon who is calling, does it not?
As the Bible instructs us to redeem the time (Ephesians 5.16), we need to see the opportunities to hear the call from the heavenly Father. His call does not last very long. Only for a lifetime, and a lifetime is short like a vapor (James 4.14).
Would you answer God’s call immediately, without hesitation, or would you linger and subliminally say, “Leave a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can?”
“Getting back” to God and answering his call is something few do. Like everything else, we get busy. We are distracted. We put Him on hold. Other things are pressing. We have other appointments. As time passes, the opportunity to answer and submit to what God is asking us to do is lost. We are never able to recover it, nor do we know if God will ever call us again to minister to the needs of others, teach a soul, help our children learn self-control, or abandon our pride.
It is our loss when we miss the opportunity to serve our God. We are not really in a position to pick and choose which call we want to answer. All of them, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable, have their own special blessings. With each call answered, our faith increases in what God knows is best for us to do. Our eagerness to serve Him later when He calls increases. We are ready and do not put off responding. We immediately say, “Here am I, send me.” At the moment we respond, God’s will becomes a wonderful part of our lives, and we adopt HIs plans as our own. Doing all this brings to us the ultimate of all blessings - an abundant life both here and after this life (1 Timothy 4.8).
