“Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the Lord under the supervision of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; visions [that is, new revelations of divine truth] were not widespread. Yet it happened at that time, as Eli was lying down in his own place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well).and the [oil] lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, that the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.” He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call you; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again. “Now Samuel did not yet know [or personally experience] the Lord, and the word of the Lord was not yet revealed [directly] to him. So the Lord called Samuel a third time. And he stood and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli understood that it was the Lord [who was] calling the boy. So, Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and it shall be that if He calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So, Samuel went and lay down in his place. Then the Lord came and stood and called as at the previous times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant is listening.’” (I Samuel 3:1-10 The Amplified Bible)
It is a fact that we are living in rare times. Wrong has been redefined as right, children being uneducated by ways model by their parents, opposed to being brought up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Secular life is seen as more important to a growing number instead of seeing the need for a sanctified life. Sacred living is becoming scarcer. Yes! We are living in rare times. The Lord is only given a minimal number of years to let Him rule our lives, as is His sovereign right. People have forgotten that there is no retirement in the kingdom. Gone is the saying that pointed to the maximum of years in service, “For the rest of my life, I will serve Him.” We are living in rare times. Discipline has disappeared, and along with that, as would be expected, as has a disciplined life, one where in all our ways we acknowledge the Lord and let Him direct our paths. Maybe all generations do not recognize how much the trends have reversed a reverence for the Lord. We are living in rare time! But listen! God is still God! God is still the One who made us and not we ourselves! God is still the One to be worshipped! God still orders our steps when we get into His transforming word! This is a good time to make a transition into differentiating between Samuel’s time and our time. In these rare times in which we live, God is speaking! God still has a word for His people! The problem is described by this question, “But are we listening?”
We need to be listening to Him for He will change us for the better when we do. And we should not only listen for His guidelines for living a godly life, but we should also be listening and discerning the voice of God calling us to Him specifically for some specific purpose. In the text above, Samuel ran to Eli. Finally, he ended up, on a fourth time, running to God. Today, we need to run to the Lord and not to the preacher. Run to Christ and not just a seat in the church house. Run to the One who has a special calling on your life. Yes, He wants you and He has work for you to do to make the people of God better and to help the people of the world be in a better place. Think about it! If you change one person’s life by answering God’s call to do what He wants you to specifically do, the world will no longer be the same.
Go make a difference today! Make the world different today! Listen to the Lord! Stay God-conscious! Remain Christ-centered in your living! Be blessed!
“We are called by God to do theology, that is to live our lives with a moment-to moment consciousness of God.” (Quote by Paul David Trip)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King