Last year, my church produced a series called “Here I Am.” It was such a powerful message that it’s become the spiritual theme of the year for me. It’s amazing to consider the significance of those three tiny words. Here. I. Am. But if you do a quick search through the Bible, you’ll see this phrase play a critical role in some huge interactions.

God calls to Abraham both before and after the test of tests involving his son Isaac. Each time, Abraham replies, “Here I am.”

God calls to Jacob in a dream to transfer Abraham’s blessing onto him. Jacob replies, “Here I am.”

God calls to Moses from a burning bush to tell him to lead a nation out of slavery. Moses replies, “Here I am.”

God calls to Samuel as a young boy to deliver the first of many prophetic messages. Samuel replies, “Here I am.”

God calls to Isaiah seeking a messenger to stand in the gap of a wayward nation. Isaiah replies, “Here I am.”

I don’t know about you, but I want to lead a significant and consequential life. I want to dare mighty things. It keeps me up at night and drives me on in the daytime. Normal isn’t good enough. Easy isn’t adventurous enough. Good isn’t satisfying enough. There’s only one scale that’s big enough to live on – and that’s God’s. All others pale in comparison.

The only problem is, I can’t write my own script.

In almost every story in the Bible, it was God who instigated, orchestrated and demonstrated His power and faithfulness in incredible ways. So how do we “coax” God to let us in on the action?

I’ve come to learn we can’t preempt a calling, a word or a miracle from God because at the end of the day, it’s “thy will” not “my will” be done. But we can be available. And there are some really good reasons to be. Turns out, I’m not the only one saying, “Here I am.”

In Isaiah 65, God laments through Isaiah the prophet, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call my name.”

Maybe I’m waiting on God when He’s actually waiting on me.

Let’s pause on that. We want God to get us to the next big thing. I know I do. I can’t stand the status quo. I want more. I want it all. But God says, “Here I am, want ME!”

In a world where instant gratification is a realistic expectation, turns out fast is slow and slow is fast. We spin our wheels trying to get to the next destination, physically and spiritually, before we realize that we’re back where we started. And all along God has been saying, “Here I am.” What’s our response?

I still want more. That probably won’t change. But I realize I don’t need to wait. I’m not always sure what God is saying to me or when the next move will come. But that doesn’t stop me from being part of the spiritual conversation. Like the “places” marker on social media, I want my profile to stand out when God looks my way. Here I am.

Here I am means I surrender.

Here I am means I’m available.

Here I am means I’m all in.

Here I am means that regardless of circumstances, I want a relationship with God.

And like icing on the cake, when Jesus shows up, it really gets personal. Check out Revelations 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…”

God is calling my name. Am I calling His?