Are You There?

As seen in the HEARTbeat and Village Voice

“Are You There?”

                Have you ever called someone who has a weird voice mail?  There are many different phrases one can use to get their personality across to the caller.  But are there some that are a little irritating to you?  I have one in particular that is a little off-putting.

           I make the call and the phone stops ringing.  I wait to hear the person on the other end, the person I’m calling, to say “hello,” but the greeting never comes.  I wait a second, which turns into five seconds or longer, and then their voice mail greeting comes on and asks me to leave a number.  The dead-air space of only five seconds (which seems like a lot more) creates a great deal of anticipation as well as questioning, thinking the person on the other end is ignoring me for some reason.  I’ve even been known to verbally ask, “Are you there?”

We read and study the Bible.  There are so many rich stories of how God did great things through people.  Abram became Abraham and became the father of many nations.  David was a shepherd boy who slew the giant and became king.  Daniel was taken captive and carried into a far-off land only to garner favor with the king for accurately interpreting dreams.  Each apostle heard the words “Follow me” and did just that and eventually changed the world by spreading the Good News.  The Apostle Paul, one of the fiercest persecutors of the early church met Jesus on a dusty road, was struck blind and converted, and eventually wrote the majority of our modern day New Testament.  And finally, a young, single woman was visited by a heavenly messenger and told she would give birth to the Messiah, the Son of God.

What do all these men, women, and many more have in common?  They all answered, “Yes” when the call came and the person on the other end said, “Are you there?”  Each person in the Bible who worshiped God accomplished great things.  It wasn’t on their own, however.  God gave each a special anointing to accomplish great things, dare I say Biblical-resounding things to spread His love to a much needed world.

God calls each and every one of us to do great things.  If we think the miracles in the Bible are things in the past, think again.  Scripture tells us God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  If this is so, then His ability to work through people to bless others is the same today as it was in the time of Abraham, David, Daniel, Mary, and many others.  The only requirement is we must be available.

God still calls men and women to do kingdom work.  It may be in your local town, maybe in another state, or even another country.  God is calling and saying, “Are you there?”  Our response should be, “Yes Lord, here am I!  Use me.”  Make a difference!  Answer God’s call!