Responding to a Shout

The passage that caught my spirit's attention today was sort of a conundrum to me at first. I wasn't sure what meaning I was supposed to draw from it, other than its literal meaning.

First Thessalonians 4:16-17 reads, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout , with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord." (NASB)

The next verse encourages the readers to use these words to comfort one another, and hallelujah, they should be a comfort! But I gathered another thought from these verses as well. I actually really enjoy the word picture this brings to mind... Christ descends and gives a shout (in my mind it's a sort of rallying whoop), there are trumpets and we arise...millions of us arise from the earth and we all join together to meet with our Father and the Son. The way it plays out in my imagination (which, of course, is nothing other than my own thoughts and isn't meant to reflect truth...just to engage with the Word), Jesus comes and gives His holy holler, and the world's believers just jump in response, to be with Him and to join in union with one another in eternity.

I may not often get a real hollerin' whoop from the Lord, but I do hear His voice on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes it's just a passage of scripture coming back to mind at the perfect and most opportune moment, guiding me and teaching me. Sometimes I feel a real word from the Lord reach down into my heart and spirit with a message specifically for me; it's often when I need it most.

My point today, though, is what do I do then? Do I shake loose the earth that may have me buried at the moment, and soar immediately to be in His presence? in His will? to be in union Him? Well, sometimes I do. Sometimes, I must admit, I instead freeze. I consider His call; I weigh out the trade-offs. I linger in my earthly mire. Lastly, I'd be lying if there weren't times that I (metaphorically speaking) just pushed my head and ears a little deeper into the dirt, effectively drowning out His voice and trumpet calls.

I admit that the scene described in First Thessalonians has a very animated quality to it in my mind's eye; I also can see the instruction I can take from that conceptualization. When He calls us into our eternal communion with Him, we will leap forth at the opportunity. My prayers this morning will include both repentance for the times I respond in any other way, and also a request for His aide in hearing clearly His shouts to my heart, and a willingness and ability to bound forward in His call without hesitation or delay. What an amazing God we serve who will not only accept us in our many failings, but also help us to grow and change!