Wednesday, August 28, 2019

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. 1 Samuel 2-10: “One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel.  Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’  But Eli said, ‘I did not call; go back and lie down.’ So he went and lay down.  Again the Lord called, ‘Samuel!’ And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’  ‘My son,’ Eli said, ‘I did not call; go back and lie down.’  Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.  A third time the Lord called, ‘Samuel!’ And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am; you called me.’  Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.  The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’  Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’”

Who do you mistake God’s voice for?  Samuel thought it was Eli speaking to him. Three times God called out to Samuel, but he did not recognize the Lord, because he did not yet know the Lord. I’m not sure if Samuel even realized it was the Lord the fourth time He called to him. Samuel only responded the way he did out of obedience to how Eli instructed him to answer.  Last Friday I woke up with a message the Lord gave me to extend an invitation to someone I barely know. I had no contact information for this person, so He directed me to extend the invitation through a mutual friend. I contacted the mutual friend and she shared with me that God had been calling out to her all week about extending an invitation to her friend, but hadn’t because she didn’t want to have an awkward conversation with me about it.  The Lord is calling and sometimes He sounds like us, you know those thoughts in our heads that we come up with, which makes it easy for us to close the door and not be obedient to His call.  When we don’t act upon God’s calling, He will carry that message to someone else to deliver it to you, just as He directed Eli to Samuel. Have you ever wondered why you keep hearing the same message in a relatively short period of time?  Well, that’s God trying to reach you any way He can. Doubt and self questioning can go hand in hand when hearing from the Lord in the beginning. But the more you listen, the more you will recognize His voice, and the more you recognize His voice, the more He will talk with you.  Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. This small act of sharing our Lord’s words may not seem like much, but I tell you the truth, it will start a ripple effect. That one tiny drop of trust and action will create mighty waves. Some we will get to see and experience, but most of them we will have no knowledge. Our knowledge of those events is not what matters. The more you listen, the more confident you will become in recognizing His voice, the more confidently you will act upon His call, the more mighty wonders He will orchestrate through your small acts of obedience.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#JoshWilson – Dream Small