“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8).
I smiled when I read the following Help Wanted ad for a local restaurant. It stated: “Scattered hours. Every Monday 4:00-9:30, every Friday and every other Saturday 4:00-9 or 11:00 except every 5TH Fri. and Sat. 12:00-5:00.” My first thought wondered if there was any individual who would be interested in applying for a job with such irregular hours. Then I recalled being on the other end of similar conversations when I would conduct interviews for my former employer. I’d usually tell applicants that we had openings on a certain shift at a facility which operated round-the clock, seven days a week. In response to my questions regarding their availability, I would frequently hear replies beginning with the words, “except when.” It didn’t always make them very useful to the employer, and more often than not – they didn’t get the job. Our busy lives, which only grow more complex and diverse with time, present a major obstacle to our availability and resulting usefulness. We are so caught up with personal schedules that our readiness for the important things in life often suffers. If we consider that we have a relationship with Christ, we must step back and honestly examine our openness to serving Him.
God’s availability stands at the heart of Scripture. He is present to guide and protect and, when necessary, to correct. But most of all, we expect Him to be our listening ear when we face the adversities of life as we often do. If we base our emotional security on close friends or family members, we become vulnerable in assuming they will always be there for us. On the contrary – God never hides from us; He is never absent or consumed by something more important. He is available, as contemporary phrasing would state, 24/7. God’s ever-present availability challenges us to ask how accessible are we to Him? What part of our day can God claim? Do we give Him significant time, or do we struggle to give Him even five minutes? What do we first have to take care of before we can give God our attention? Jesus struggled with the readiness of those who stated they would commit to Him. “As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’ He said to another man, ‘Follow me.’ But he replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.’ Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:57-62).
God is looking for humble people who are totally dependent upon Him. He seeks those followers who are willing to make themselves available whenever He calls and for whatever reason . . . those who, without any form of hesitation, would say, “Here I am Lord – send me.” In the words of the Apostle Paul: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). God does not expect that each of us will be called into full-time ministry or commit our lives to be missionaries in a foreign land. While it is exceptional when one dedicates to attend in this way, each of us can serve Him if we just look around, sometimes not very far away. There is the widow down the street who is lonely, the colleague at work who is searching for encouragement, the homeless shelter or foodbank who needs a volunteer, or maybe someone in your own family who is being overlooked. The words of the prophet give us clear direction: “Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help” (Isaiah 58:7). In light of the promise we have from God to be “always available” (John 14:18) – it is vital that we reflect that same love to others. His expectation is that those who claim to be His followers will never look back saying that we are available to Him . . . except when we’re not!
REFLECTION: Honestly ask the question: Am I paying attention to my call to grow in love, humility and living for the glory of God? How can you make yourself more available to someone who has a need you may have ignored? In what ways can you reshuffle your priorities in order to consistently serve God?
A NEW LOOKUP DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT., FEBRUARY 2, 2019. COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.