When the Savior Calls
One of my favorite things about having grown up in the church is the multitude of songs with which I have been privileged to become familiar over the course of my life. From the time I was very small, I can remember singing all sorts of “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” being a regular part of our weekly corporate worship and of our daily life at home.
If you were raised in a similar environment, you know that just as there is a biblical Psalm for just about every occasion or feeling, so too is there a hymn that may come to mind in nearly every circumstance. When I struggle with loneliness, the song “Be With Me, Lord” reminds me both of my dependence upon God and the solution to my loneliness that His presence provides. When I don’t know what decision to make or which direction to go, I am reminded by one of my absolute favorite older hymns that even when I cannot see how the Lord is doing it, “He Leadeth Me.” When I doubt my ability to fulfill the charge I have been given, I am reminded by a more contemporary song that those who have accepted Christ and His Gospel are “More Than Conquerors.”
One song that comes to mind frequently is one that we haven’t sung in a while but which I have known for as long as I can remember. Some of you may have guessed through the title of this article that the song in question is “I’ll Be List’ning.” The three verses I remember from childhood read as follows:
When the Savior calls, I will answer; when He calls for me, I will hear.
When the Savior calls, I will answer; I’ll be somewhere list’ning for my name.
If my heart is right when He calls me, if my heart is right, I will hear.
If my heart is right when He calls me, I’ll be somewhere list’ning for my name.
If my robe is white when He calls me, if my robe is white, I will hear.
If my robe is white when He calls me, I’ll be somewhere list’ning for my name.
Obviously, there is an element of this song that speaks to the coming of Jesus and the proper posture of faith that is to be maintained in order to be prepared for His return. This is perhaps the most immediate thought or moral elicited by these words, and usually when we would sing this song growing up, it was in the context of a lesson about the return of Christ and/or the importance of preparedness. It was only recently that I realized that the song never explicitly mentions the “return” of Christ, only the “calling” of Christ. Yes, it’s absolutely appropriate to sing this song and think about its words in relation to Jesus’s impending return, but what if there are other times when this reminder may be appropriate and is found lacking? What if there are other moments in which the Lord is calling me to action, but because I am not immediately mindful of His coming in judgment, I do not respond to Him?
What if I have been ignoring Jesus and not even realizing it?
I want to be clear here - I do not believe in, nor do I find any evidence in Scripture to support, the idea that God or Jesus or the Spirit will manifest Himself in an actual, audible voice telling believers what to do or not do in certain situations. If you are hearing voices when no one is talking, whether you believe them to be the voice of God or not, the best thing to do is not to listen to them but to talk to someone in a clinical setting. If your attempt at a justification for listening to them comes from Scripture, you’d better have your airtight verification of your identity as one of the apostles of Jesus on your person.
On the other hand, I DO believe in, and find ample evidence in Scripture to support, the biblical idea of a calling from Christ that is sent and must be accepted on a regular basis. Does the Lord audibly talk in your ear, telling you what to do or giving you special, miraculous knowledge? No. Does the Lord strengthen, equip, and (in a metaphorical sense) speak through your conscience and your recollection of time spent in Scripture to help direct you? I certainly think so, and I certainly hope that we are not so driven by a “spirit of fear” that we have gotten used to drowning out the Spirit of God.
The next time that you feel a tug within your spirit to do something - to talk to someone about Jesus, to serve someone or to serve the church in a specific way, to pray about anything or anyone, to leave your comfort zone and approach the cross - don’t ignore it. Listen to what the Lord has to say, and don’t be surprised when He tells you exactly what you need to hear, or when He ends the conversation with the words, “follow Me.”
“The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’” ~ 1 Samuel 3:10
AUTHOR: Luke Tatum
Very well said