January 16

Even the Faintest Call

And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD. — Joel 2:32 BSB

Why don’t I call on His name? Why do I run to one person and then another when God is so near and will hear even my faintest cry? Why do I sit down and devise schemes and make plans? Why not immediately cast myself and my burden upon the Lord? The most direct path is the best—so why don’t I go straight to the living God? It’s pointless to look for deliverance anywhere else, but with God, I will find it, for He has given His royal promise to make it certain.

I don’t need to wonder if I’m allowed to call on Him, because the word "whosoever" is broad and inclusive. "Whosoever" means me, because it means anyone and everyone who calls on God. So, I’ll follow the guidance of this scripture and call on the glorious Lord who has made such a generous promise.

My situation is urgent, and I don’t see how I can be delivered, but that’s not my concern. The One who made the promise will figure out how to fulfill it. My responsibility is to obey His commands, not to direct His plans. I am His servant, not His advisor. I call upon Him, and He will deliver me.