Call Upon The Lord

Call upon his name by Susan Barnes

"And the name of the city from that time will be: The Lord is there". Ezekiel 48:35

One of the continuing themes throughout the Bible is: No matter what, God is with us. We see this in Isaiah 63:9 "In all their distress he too was distressed", in Hebrews 13:5 " Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" and the one we remember mostly at Christmas, "they will call him Immanuel (which means 'God with us')" (Matthew 1:23).

This prophecy from Ezekiel was given at a time of great upheaval, and it is interesting that God doesn't always rescue us from life's dramas but rather he promises his presence in the midst of them. God wants us know that he is always there for us.

Yet he also desires that we call upon him like the disciples in Mark 6:48. Jesus "saw the disciples straining at the oars...he went out to them...he was about to pass by them". Jesus would have passed by, but when the disciples cried out to him, he immediately (v.50) spoke to them and calmed the wind.

God is always willing to help us, strengthen us and enable us. So while it is good to recognize God's presence with us, he also wants us to call upon him. Even though he already knows our need, he expects us to ask. The asking clarifies our difficulties and helps us to release our faith so God can work in our lives.

So let's thank God for being with us and call upon his presence in new and deeper ways.