When God Calls, Answer!

Preacher:
Date: March 1, 2021

It’s pretty common these days for people not to answer their phone calls until they know who is calling. But the person who refuses to return phone calls is just plain—well, rude.  It’s as if the caller is not important enough to deserve a return call.

Yet did you know there’s a verse in the Bible about God calling us and not getting an answer?  It’s true.  Here’s what Isaiah 65:12 says:  “I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen.”  How sad!  Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth, calling to the people He loves, but they ignore Him.  They neither answer Him nor listen to what He has to say. In other words, they hang up on God.

But before we get too critical of others, let’s be honest. Has there ever been a time when you heard God’s voice speak to you in your heart but you didn’t want to listen?  So you let the call go, so to speak, and ignored God’s voice.  I have to admit I have done that.

How different the situation when we call God. In the very same chapter of Isaiah, God says, “Before they call I will answer, while they are still speaking I will hear” (verse 24).  Wow!  When we call God, He answers even before we call. He listens to us, not treating us like we sometimes treat Him.

When you call God, you can be sure you’ll get through to Him.  In Psalm 18:6 David said, “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.”  No answering machine, no receptionist taking the call.  Your cry comes directly to God’s ears.

Think about that the next time you sense God speaking to you. Do Him the courtesy of answering when He calls.