On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased. Psalm 138:3 I once interviewed a lady for my radio show, The Reality, who was severely abused as a child. We’ll call her Jas. Jas was not a Christian, she was of a polytheistic faith and believed in many gods. She escaped her childhood home by running away. Sadly, however, she then became involved with men who were equally abusive to her.
One day, after a major argument, her partner attacked her beating her with his fists until she fell to the ground. He proceeded to hold her down and kneel on her neck until she could no longer breathe. In her frensy, Jas called out to all the gods she knew of, to no effect. Then, remembering the God of the Christians. In her mind, Jas called on the name of Jesus Christ. Instantly the man fell back and released his grip on her.
In the Psalms, we read, “For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.” In Acts and Romans, we read that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Certainly, these scriptures refer to calling on the name of Jesus for salvation from sin and death. We have the promise of eternal life if we call on Christ and surrender our lives to him. However, I believe that we can take that word literally in everyday life, too, calling on the name of Jesus for salvation in the here and now.