As of late I have discovered a renewed appreciation and fascination for scripture and how it is applicable for any and every situation. Recently, I was reading through 1 Samuel and found myself pausing in chapter 3 while looking at the words on the page my mind and heart began to focus on each word as they spoke to me, it was as if it might have just been me instead of Samuel. I could see in my mind the story taking place, which was Samuel's first real encounter with God. The story is found in 1 Samuel 3:4-10, let's just jump right into the scriptures.
"Then God called out, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Yes? I'm here." then he ran to Eli saying, "I heard you call. Here I am." Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." And so he did. God called again, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel got up and went to Eli, "I heard you call. Here I am." Again Eli said, "Son, I didn't call you. Go back to bed." God called again, "Samuel!" the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, "Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am." That's when it dawned on Eli that God was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, "Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again say, "Speak, God. I'm your servant, ready to listen." Samuel returned to his bed. The God came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, "Samuel! Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak. I am your servant, ready to listen."
This passage got me thinking about all the times God has tried to get my attention over and over and over again, only for me to push it aside until I feel like listening. So often in life we try to ignore the calling of God and play it off as nothing or we reason that someone else will do it so we don't have to. Here's the thing... if God told you to do it, then that means you need to do it. He chose you to be the messenger not someone else, so why are you trying to get someone else to do it? Personally I have found myself doing this more times then I'd like to admit. I feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit to pray with someone or telling them something God has placed on my heart just for them, yet I let my insecurity keep me from doing just that. I let my self-doubt keep me from speaking out in truth.
Yet, something the Holy Spirit has been teaching me lately is that it is okay to be nervous as long as you are taking that step out in faith anyway. It can be extremely unnerving to step out into the unknown and trust that it will all work out in the end. The thing is, we just have to take the first step, then step again and again until it doesn't seem as scary. Let me ask you this, how long does it take for you to give God your undivided attention when He calls? I'm not trying to be all in your face, I just want to get you thinking about whether or not you're giving God the attention he deserves. My next question is, are you willing and ready to listen? When He gets your attention are you ready to hear what He is saying? Scripture tells us that Samuel said here I am , he was ready to listen when God called the fourth time. He was ready. He was ready for what God was about to say.
My prayer is that we would all respond in the same manner Samuel did. That we would be ready for the call of God. That we would be ready to hear what He has to say and willing to go and do what He directs us to do. I pray that when we hear His call our response will be HERE I AM!
What's your response?
As Always remember you have a God-given uniqueness!
Shalom ~ Alianna
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