Answering the call of God

A man or a woman’s response to salvation is just the
start. At some point, there is a call
from God to that man or woman. The call
of God usually comes as a result of the call of man – God loves to respond to
those seeking him. Isaiah responded to
such a call and became God’s mouthpiece.
If you read Isaiah 58, you see that God is very interested in men
calling him and answers them in a number of ways.

He tells Isaiah how to speak out the call and calls on
others to call on him: “Shout it aloud,
raise your voice like a trumpet…Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on
him while he is near…Then you will call, and the Lord will answer.”

This interplay of the call of man and the call of God is
woven throughout Isaiah 58, which is also a chapter that displays God’s heart
for the poor. In that chapter, we see
multiple instances of God asking men to call on him, and simultaneously telling
him how he will respond to that call. It
points to his desire for relationship – to a process of give and take.

Our heart’s cry
    God’s
response                 Passages

“I need you”         “repent”                               verses
2 & 4

“I’m sorry”             “share
your resources”       verses 4
& 7

“Come near”         “we
will talk together”         verses 2
& 9

“I’m hurt”             “I
will heal you”                     verses
3 & 8

“Help me”             “I
will protect you”              verses
9 & 8

“I will honor you”   “Your
light will shine”         verses 13
& 10

“I will trust you”     “I’ll
meet your needs”        verses 13
& 11

“I will follow you”    “I’ll
bless you”                   verses
10 & 12

“I’ll spend time w/ you”  “I’ll
guide you”           verses
13 & 11

For those of you joining in our
fast this next month, I’ll be sending out daily devotional emails (beginning
Aug. 6^th) based on Isaiah 58.
You can sign up to receive them by emailing VickiGross@adventures.org .