Here I am…

 Here I am….

You call and call and finally they listen…your children or husband are concentrating on some thing vitality important..mud pies, building a fence, a contract, feeding the sheep…chasing rainbows, stomping in the mud or snow….whatever…finally they answer, “here I am”…and you are content to know where they are, what they are doing….if they really listen…or maybe you wanted the,to check in once in awhile…

Or for your children, maybe they have gotten lost in the night darkness, or had a bad dream and they are calling you…and you comfort them saying, “ here I am”…you both want that answer…in the dark, in the light, knowing that someone is there…

Several times that phrase is used from Genesis to Revelation…

God calls and is wanting an answer…an acknowledgment…that obedience…

I realize I don’t always answer to those callings with an immediate, “here I am”…it may be more like, “okay, okay, I hear you”…when I would rather not…even when the former is more appropriate…

Then I see two verses, Isaiah 65:1 and Revelation 3:20…where God is not asking but giving of himself to our seeking, saying, “ here I am” to Israel and to anyone who is seeking…waiting, wanting…He desires that we open up to Him…how I love that…the God of the universe wants to be with me…thank YOU….

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

Genesis 22:1

But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied.

Genesis 22:11

 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered.

Genesis 27:1

And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied.

Genesis 46:2

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”

Exodus 3:4

Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am. ” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” 

But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” 

And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 

A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” 

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 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 3:4-6,8-10 

Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”

Psalm 40:7-8 

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 revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’

Isaiah 65:1

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”

Acts 9:10

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 

Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll — I have come to do your will, my God.’” 

First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” —though they were offered in accordance with the law. 

Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:5-10

20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Revelation 3:20