This Is A Collect Call.
When you are in trouble, call for Me. I will come and rescue you, and you will honor Me (Psa 50:15 VOICE Translation).
The above statement is not a piece of advice but a command from El Shaddai, the Most Powerful Being, to the most powerless person to dial His telephone number. The tenor of the command also carries the undertone that the One offering to help knows that He alone can deliver in the whole universe. It is also helpful to remember the emphatic question posed to the terrified and bewildered Sarah by one of the three angelic visitors who singled himself out by identifying himself alone as LORD (YHWH):
IS anything too difficult or too wonderful for the LORD (YHWH)? At the appointed time, when the season [for her delivery] comes, I will return to you and Sarah WILL have a son (Gen. 18:14 AMP).
At the appointed time is translated by the KJV as “According to the time of life” which in layman’s term simply means “at the right time.” To this the prophet Jeremiah confessed:
As Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! There is nothing too difficult or too wonderful for You (Jer 32:17).
For believers it is a moot point saying God can do all things; God’s omnipotence is one of the fundamental tenets of Christianity. Yet, we often find our minds plagued with the thought of what if God does not…?
This reminds me of a book titled Jungle Pilot in Liberia written by Abe Guenther, a relative of one of our neighbours. He was a missionary and had a flying ministry to the rural people in Liberia in the 1950s (like the late Missionary Benny DeMerchant’s ministry to the Amazons in Brazil). In his book, Abe recorded an interesting conversation he had with William Tubman, the former president of Liberia (a former American colony in West Africa, a brainchild of the American Colonization Society—ACS).
The President had just come out of a Methodist Church service waiting for his wife when the missionary ran over to him and said, “Sir, I am pilot Guenther. You asked me to make a flight to the interior, and I am so sorry I was unable to do that for you, due to engine trouble.” The president said with a tinge of sarcasm, “Isn’t that just like God, Just when we need Him most, then He is gone, or at least it seems like that.”
Unfortunately, the sceptical president seemed to be worshipping an unknown God who had been waiting for his response to the question, “Is the LORD’S power limited” or is there anything too difficult for Me” (Num 11:23 NASB; Jer 32:27)? Thankfully, angel Gabriel came to Mary’s rescue with the response, “”for with God NO-THING is impossible” (Lk 1:37).
These same questions face everyone who comes to God and how one responds is crucial. Let us explore some phrases in our focus verse for further insights.
- Call upon me in the day of trouble: this is an open door for whosoever will to “come boldly to the throne of grace” and have his or her needs met. But there are some points here that need to be clarified regarding calling upon God:
- We must “call,” the onus is upon us to call through prayer, petition, supplication, intercession, worship, and praise. God has issued the invitation, but it is up to us to ask for help; the sky is not the limit, but we are the limit. “For whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Which brings us to the next point.
- Identity of who the “Me” is on Whom we are to call: Notice that in our focus text above, God referred to Himself as a “Me” (first person singular pronoun)and not a Us or We; it is of absolute importance that we know the God we are to call upon else we pray in vain. In Matt 14:22-31, the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water, Peter had only a fraction of a split second to identify who the one true God was when he was sinking. Also, interesting to note, Jesus did not move until Peter cried out in desperation: “Lord, save me!” Is it not surprising that Peter, a seasoned fisherman, whom we could all assume knew how to swim (Jn 21:7) would not venture to swim back to the boat nor towards Jesus in a stormy weather! Likely, he had walked quite a bit away from the boat towards Jesus, the sea was tempestuous, and Jesus was quite a distance away from the boat because the Lord had to yell out to calm down the disciples who were freaking out. When it came to the issue of the salvation of his soul, Peter, a Jew, totally ignore the titles, “Father,” “Son,” and the “Holy Spirit,” guess who he called on to save him? Jesus. And guess what he called him, “Lord (“Kyrios,” Gk meaning “Yahweh” in Septuagint), save me!” Peter in a sense expressed the full meaning of the name, “JESUS,” meaning “Yahweh is salvation” “For whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:13).
- When and What Time and Where to call on God? Everyday, every time, and everywhere. Paul’s injunction to “Pray without ceasing” is reiterating Jesus’ command that “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” regardless of the situation (1 Thess 5:17; cf. Lk 18:1). But, in 1 Tim. 2:8 he elaborated further on what this kind of prayer looks like saying that “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.”
The art of prayer is the most neglected of all Christian rituals, yet the most potent spiritual tool for transacting divine business and trading in “deep waters.” Use all your spiritual tools.
God is expecting your call, and His number is J.E.S.U.S. And, by the way, you can call collect. “Operator, give me Jesus on the line.”