Samuel was still a youth when he first heard God speak to him. In fact, even though his mother had dedicated him to serving God in the temple, Samuel didn’t even recognize that it was God who was calling his name. Imagine lying in your bed at night, just about to drift off to sleep and you hear your name. How would you respond? Samuel thought it was Eli, the priest. So he jumps out of bed and hurries to Eli to see what he needs. But Eli didn’t call him and the old priest sent him back to bed. This happens three times before the priest finally figures out what’s going on. Now keep in mind we’re talking about the priest and it took three times before he gets its —- its God calling Samuel.
It wasn’t that Samuel was praying, seeking God’s will, and waiting for God to respond. Samuel wasn’t praying for a revival in his nation or for God to get rid of a pandemic virus. Samuel was actually lying down in bed trying to sleep when God calls him by name. That in and of itself should stir a thrill with in our hearts. Our sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, God – the creator of the heavens of earth, the one who tells the stars to come out, the one who tells the sea “stop there you can go no further” — that God – He calls us by our name. We are never forgotten. We are never out of His sight. We are never in such a crisis that God doesn’t know it. He is a God that loves us with an everlasting and faithful love who desires to have a personal relationship – and He calls us by our name.
I’m reminded of my grandmother. As my sisters and I were growing up she would go through all three of our names and then say, which one are you? God never calls me by another person’s name. In fact, my name is engraved in the palm of His hand. I am that special to Him – and so are you.
Has God ever had a job or a message for you and when God calls your name, you look around like, “Who called me?” Have you ever been seeking His will and you pray and pray, but you never stop and listen? Is the voice of God so unexpected or seldom heard that you don’t recognize His voice? When He calls, are you more likely to lay out a “fleece” like Gideon to see if what you heard was real? Would you be like Moses and out of curiosity say, “Let me go inspect this burning bush that isn’t burning up?” Would you be like Moses and give God all the excuses as to why it shouldn’t be you doing the task He has for you? Or would you be like Samuel and say, “Speak, Lord, your servant hears?”
God is always looking for the people that are ready to not only hear Him, but also have a willing heart to obey Him. Samuel’s very first task is to give old Eli a very difficult message, but as we read the verses that follow, Samuel was obedient. Eli had been Samuel’s guardian and mentor. He did not want to give him bad news, but he was obedient to God. Because Samuel was willing to receive and obey God’s word, we find in verse 21 that “the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.”
God, it amazes me that out of the billions of people who populate the earth and out of all the many more people who have lived since you created Adam – you know my name and you call me by my name. Give us ears to hear you, a heart willing to listen and obey, no matter the difficulty or the cost.
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Today, pray for Ohio:
#Chronovirus #fastandpray #judgement #repentance #revivalin2020 #WCM
Don’t forget to learn this week’s memory verse:
Memorize and hide in your heart one memory verse each week in 2020. If you didn’t start the challenge at the beginning of the year, just jump in now and be sure to sign up to get our weekly Memory verse in your email so you don’t miss a week.
In 2020 our emphasis is on revival for America with three key words: revive, renew, and redeem. You will begin to see the elements of our website and posts reflect this emphasis. We hope you’ll join us in praying for God to pour out the Holy Spirit with a mighty rushing wind of revival for our nation and around the world.
Our key verse for revival is 2 Chronicles 7:14. “If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. For the past few weeks, we have been focusing on repentance. This week, we look at the spiritual transformation that takes place when we surrender our heart to God.
This week’s memory verse:
Judges 17:6
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted.”
#Chronovirus #fastandpray #lostmoralcompass #revivalin2020 #WCM