Can you hear me now? Good. The communications company that uses these now famous words is trying to let people know the importance of clearly hearing someone’s voice. Another company also plays on the problem of static … getting the wrong message.
Hearing and discerning a voice, a message, or an important situation is vital to how we reply. Making decisions is based on the information received. We can’t respond with the proper action without first hearing the correct message.
In racing, when the call goes out for your class, it’s time to show your competitors what you’re made of. It’s also time to make your sponsors happy. After all, racing is why you choose to participate. Can you hear me now? Good.
If you miss your elimination round call, you know the consequences … you lose! We’ve all missed calls during our lives. Missing a phone call isn’t a big deal. Missing a business transaction doesn’t end the world. Even missing the call to race doesn’t jeopardize lives. And the truth of the matter is, we’ll all miss a few more calls during our lifetime, because no one can do everything right every time.
Not only has God called each one of us to reconciliation (salvation), He’s also called us to serve. Often, our willingness to stand alone before God is the bedrock test of our faith and servant hood. It’s easy to stand with the crowd, but it takes tenacious faith to follow God, and at the same time, be obedient to His holy call on your life.
What fuels your spirit? Is it racing? A relationship? A commitment? Goodness of heart? God’s Holy Spirit is what in essence draws people closer to Him, and as a result, that process is what stimulates man into a deeper level of spiritual commitment. Therefore, a genuine and heightened commitment leads to a yearning to serve the Lord.
Servant hood is something that flows from the heart of a person devoted to someone or something. Even Jesus said of His own life, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28) He was committed to paying the price to redeem us all from sin’s bondage. He heard the call. He knew the cost. His love paid the bill. Can you hear me now? Good.
Has the thought crossed your mind about surrendering your life to God, the One who gave you life, and now, offers eternal life? Maybe you heard the call, but ignored it. Or you heard it, but determined that you would answer it later, but later never came. Perhaps there was static on the line?
Since discernment is essential to maintaining life, and especially important in the life of a believer, we must learn to recognize any kind of interference, then remove it from our lives so that we can effectively hear from God. God even has His own phone number. “Call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you don’t know.” (Jeremiah 33:3) God is near to all who call on Him, those who call on Him in truth. There’s a level of understanding that comes with spiritual maturity—it’s not being afraid to call the Operator.
What are you hearing today? The roar of an engine. The sound of music. The crack of a baseball making contact with a bat. The cry of your child. The chaos of the world. Static on your cell phone. Friends, it’s time to turn to God’s frequency and tune into His message for your life.
God can be heard clear and crisp in a multitude of ways … speaking softly to your heart; parents holding their new-born child; gazing at the constellations in the evening sky; watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon; sensing the faithful love of your spouse; finally understanding the joy and certainty of eternal life; or maybe, just maybe, it’s realizing for the very first time that “God so loved the world,” He simply wants to communicate with His people. Can you hear HIM now? Good.
