Let Us Call Upon the Name of the Lord

 Read Genesis 13

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.

So, Abram left Egypt with his head tucked between his legs for the stunt that he had pulled, but he came out of Egypt with a whole bunch of money and stuff.  Neat trick.

God had already factored in Abram’s shortcomings before he chose him and now God has equipped him.  Abram returned to a place that he had been before.  In fact, he had built an altar in this place before he headed west.

Now he is back and what does he do?  He calls upon the name of the Lord.

Does that mean that there had been no prayer or communication between God and him while he was on the road?  Was it a don’t text and drive sort of thing?

What is it to call upon the name of the Lord?

Most would say it involves something vocal, not just the inclinations of the heart.  We know this.  We say praise the Lord every week, perhaps every day, and for some, it’s an ongoing thing.

We don’t just think it.  We say it.  We say:

Jesus is Lord!

He is risen.  He is risen indeed!

We sing praise God from whom all blessings flow.

These are affirmations.  We need to say them or sing them or proclaim them.

But what is it to call upon the name of the Lord?

Abram had followed God’s directions since he was in Ur.  For the first part of that journey, God’s directions came through Abram’s dad, but lately, God has been directing Abram personally.  And now Abram is in this place in a land promised to descendants that he doesn’t have.

Abram could have made a business plan. He had lots of assets.

Abram could have made a retirement plan.  He was getting older and didn’t have any kids. He had never been on a cruise. He had never been to Branson or even the Great Wolf Lodge.

Abraham could have gone out and got a tattoo—better yet, he could get circumcised.  Okay, that last part is a few chapters down the road in between having a kid with his side chick and having Isaac by his wife.

But Abram called upon the name of the Lord. He had made some blunders along the way.  He would make some more and even repeat some of the same mistakes, but he was now in this place where he had been before and he didn’t know what was next.

He knew what God had promised, but how did that translate into what he would do today or tomorrow?

Imagine Abram standing alone in a field with arms outstretched and looking to the heavens.  Imagine him saying.

O Lord, my God, I am your servant whom you called out of Ur in a place of false gods.  I am here because you have brought me here.  I have heard your promises but I don’t comprehend them or how they can become reality.

O Lord, my God, I have made a mess of so many things; yet you have blessed me.  I don’t know what is next but I call upon your name because you are the only person, place, or thing to which  I can turn.  I trust you.  I don’t understand you much of the time but I trust you.

I call upon you my Lord and my God to show me what is next. I call upon you to show me what pleases you. I call upon you because I am a complete mess when I try to figure it all out on my own.

I call upon you Lord.  I call upon your name.

Sometimes, we just need to speak aloud those things that we wrestle with in our hearts and minds and affirm to the Lord out loud that we are calling upon him to show us the way.

We need to call upon the name of the Lord and do it in our out loud voice.

How many times do we come to a crossroads in our lives?  It could be a job change, moving, disease, loss, opportunity, success, or so many other things that occupy the attention of our hearts and minds.

God wants us to take our inner turmoil and thought processes and decision matrices and speak aloud to him in a spirit of trust and obedience.

O Lord, my God, Jesus my Lord and my Savior, man have I really gotten into some stuff.  Some of it could be good.  Some seem to be leading me away from you.  Some things are just cloudy—like looking into a glass darkly.

But God, I trust you.  I trust in the name of Jesus.  I know that you have good plans for me.  Just help me to see my next step.

Jesus, I know that my sins are forgiven because of what you did or the cross, but I want to live in grateful response to that mercy and grace.  Help me.

Lord, I will trust in you and receive your peace—a peace that this world does not know.  I trust you and I will take your yoke and learn from you.

For now, just show me the next step.

Lord, I call upon your name to show me what to do.

Abram had left Egypt in good shape financially.  His decision-making paradigm was iffy but he made it to what would be the Promised Land in good shape.

He and Lot would soon part ways, at least for a while.  That seemed to be an unusual example of wisdom on Abram’s part, but there was much more to come in Abram’s story and he needed to know what was next.

More importantly, he knew who to talk to—vocally—and seek his answers. Calling on the name of the Lord is a demonstrative thing.  It shows our belief and faith in God by talking to him out loud.

In the words, Abram called upon the name of the Lord is a simple but enduring message for us.  Let us call upon the name of the Lord before we resort to our planning and scheming and human decision-making processes.

Let us call upon the name of the Lord.  We are, after all, his people.

Amen