“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered…” Joel 2:32
When the Lord Jesus walked in the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden, after the fall of man, He called unto Adam and Eve, saying, ‘Where art thou?'” (Gen. 3:9) Throughout the Old Testament, when Israel departed from the Lord to worship other gods, He would call unto them to return unto Him. When Jesus, on the last day of the feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, stood up to address the people, the Scriptures tell us that He cried, saying, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” (Jn. 7:37) He also said in Matthew’s gospel: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) The Apostle Paul would write years later to the Romans, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:13) And lastly, we find in the book of Joel, the invitation of God, perpetual and consistent, daily ringing out throughout the world, even in a period of upheaval and tribulation: “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.” Why is it that Scripture presents to us a God who through creation, and then through the prophets of old, and the apostles of the New Testament, is constantly seeking to save the lost by announcing to them that He is waiting to be wanted? The consistent principle throughout the entirety of Scripture is that God initiates His dealing with men by the revelation of Himself, and then the call to come, to approach the living God. God Himself is the great initiator, the one who “begins” the conversation, by first making the individual aware of His existence, and presence. In response to the thirst that God gives to the seeking heart, He “calls,” or communicates His desire and will to the individual, to come. God CALLS to bring us to CALLING upon Him. He moves in mysterious ways, and in differing circumstances, to awaken the lost sinner to his need, and his helplessness. God’s call is the evidence of His love for mankind, in that it is perpetual, never ceasing, ever seeking the one who is lost. His means of meeting men’s needs, is to respond to the call of men for His intervention, His salvation, and His working, so that His eternal work can be revealed and accomplished in the seeking heart.
When Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in prison in Jerusalem, during the siege of the city by Nebuchadnezzar’s army, the Lord instructed Jeremiah in the following way: “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.” (Jer. 33:3) Why did God do this, and in this way? It was to reveal to us a pattern. God initiates the meeting between Himself and man. Secondly, He tells man what he needs to do, if there is to be a continuation, and realization of God’s working, His intervention in a certain situation. God calls man to call upon Him. The call is to prayer, prayer that will open the door for God to reveal His working by unveiling His will and purpose. There is a marvelous promise that is associated with God’s command to call upon Him, and it is this: “…I will answer thee, and shew thee great things, which thou knowest not.” The promise of God is for His certain intervention, and response to the prayer of faith. James the Apostle writes in a similar manner concerning this matter of believing prayer when he writes: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (Ja. 1:5) God initiates in revealing the need, in this case that of wisdom. He then calls man to pray, but to pray in a certain manner, “believing, not wavering.” Then the promise is certainly realized: “…and it shall be given him.”
Dear Father, Strengthen us to call. In Jesus’ name, Amen.