“Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”
1 Samuel 3:4
This is such a simple verse, but we can learn so much from young Samuel. He’s sleeping when, in the middle of the night, the Lord calls out to him. Of course, he thinks it’s his master, Eli, and goes running to him. Eli tells him to go back to bed. This happens twice more before Eli realizes it is God calling out to Samuel. So the next time God calls him, Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”
The eager willingness of Samuel to answer his master’s call all through the night is a pure and beautiful picture of how we should respond to God’s call in our lives. The scripture says that he got up and ran to Eli, not just walked, but ran, saying “Here I am!” Yet most of the time, we would just rather pretend we didn’t hear anything at all.
When Samuel realizes that it is the Lord calling to him, he responds “Speak, for your servant hears.” This too is a valuable lesson. I’m sure in that moment there were a thousand questions rushing through his mind. I mean, he’s about to talk to God! There are probably a million things he wants to ask, or maybe he’s scared and wants to run, or maybe he doesn’t know what to do at all. But he does exactly what is right. He listens. He tells God to speak, and that he will listen.
This is what God wants from us. He calls us in many ways. Not usually with a loud voice in the middle of the night, but often through his commands in scripture, the teaching of wise people, or the urging of our conscience. He wants us to listen. It’s tempting to question it, to reason it away, or to ignore it all together. It’s often scary when God is calling us to something. However, God will be with you and will never send you somewhere that he will not go with you. A Few verses later in 1 Samuel 3:19, it says “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” He listened, God sent him, and God stayed with him.
Don’t be afraid to answer God’s call. He will always go with you wherever he sends you.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Help me to talk less and listen more. Show me where you are calling me. Help me to hear.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Add Comment