Here I Am

• Printable Version - Share on Facebook - Posted by Dion Todd May 1, 2022 - Filed in Video Devotional - #Christian  #obedience  #God's voice  #video devotional  - 3,513 views

  Here I Am from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

  There is a pattern repeated through scripture we can learn from. It's not just words but the attitude of our hearts—total submissiveness to what the Lord wants for us, even when it becomes contrary to our own. We will start with Abraham.

  Genesis 22:1–3 NKJV)  Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey...

  The Lord called, and Abraham said, "Here I am." Then the Lord told him to do something that Abraham didn't want to do. It was a crossing of wills, but Abraham chose to obey God and saddled up his donkey. Because of his willing attitude, the Lord exalted Abraham, and he became wealthy, powerful, and the father of our faith. Abraham's destiny began when he said, "Here I Am."

   Now let's look at Moses:

  (Exodus 3:1–4 NKJV)  Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

   The Lord called, and Moses said, "Here I Am." Then they had an interesting conversation where the Lord wanted Moses to go back to Egypt and free the Israelites enslaved there. But Moses was eighty years old and didn't want to go. After some signs and wonders, Moses went off to Egypt and, in doing so, began his destiny.

   (1 Samuel 3:1–4 NKJV)  Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!"

  Young Samuel was sleeping down the hall from the high priest Eli. Because of the backslidden state of the priesthood in those days, the word of the Lord was rare. God didn't speak to the priests anymore. Eli's two sons were priests at the time, and they were horrible, but he did nothing to correct them:

  (1 Samuel 2:12 NASB)  Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD

  (1 Samuel 2:22 NKJV)  Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

  The Bible states that these priests were "worthless men, who did not know the LORD," yet they served at the temple! So the Lord stopped speaking to the priesthood there, and He found someone else, the young boy Samuel. The Lord called, and Samuel said, "Here I am!" That was the beginning of his destiny.

  (Acts 9:8–10 NKJV)  Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord."

  (Acts 9:11–16 NKJV)  So the Lord said to him, "Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight." Then Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."

  The Lord called to Ananias, and Ananias said, "Here I am, Lord." The Lord wanted him to go and lay his hands on Saul of Tarsus, a renowned Christian hunter who was coming to Damascus to arrest the believers there and put them in prison. Well, Ananias didn't want to go, but there began his destiny. Ananias is mentioned in our bible because of his obedience.

  Three of the four people the Lord called didn't want to go at first. His plan didn't look like the path they would have chosen. Yet, that is where their destiny began. It's an attitude of the heart, a crossing of our wills, where we decide to do what He wants instead of what we want. At some point in our life, what He wants needs to become more important than what we want.

  Can He trust you? Will you follow his path even if it hurts? When He calls you to do something, will you say, "Here I am!"

  (Isaiah 6:8 NKJV)  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

   You can pray this with me if you like:

  Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You so much for bringing me this far. I want what You want. May Your will be done on Earth, and in my life, as it is in heaven. Here I am, Lord. Use me as You like. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!