Speak Lord. Your Servant is Listening.

Read: 1 Samuel 3:1-18

I love the way God teaches us. Yes, assuredly through His Word as we read it, but also through the minutia of every-day life. Reminders He gives us throughout our days. For example, the lesson I learned through a soaker hose. A story for another time, but for today, a story from the life of a woman who loves horses. Her name is Rebecca Ondov, and she is the author of the book "Great Horse Stories," and what a lesson she learned from one of her loved horses, Castaway. She didn't tell us in the interview Castaway's story and how she came to acquire him. I can surmise from his name that he wasn't well cared for and loved before she took him; however, it was obvious that she loves that horse. One day Rebecca was going about her business when she observed a man who was on the street. He was extremely dirty. She experienced what she believed was the nudge of the Holy Spirit telling her to feed him. She didn't want to, but she finally said she would go and get money. If he were still there when she returned, she would feed him. After all, the Lord reminded her of the care she had given horses when they were broken and bruised. She would make special food for them and treat them with compassion. Here was a man made in the image of God, Genesis 1:26-27. He needed something she could provide. How much more valuable was he than the horses she cared for, Matthew 6:26? When she returned with the money, it appeared that he was gone; instead, he had merely change locations; so she approached him and asked if he would like something to eat. He said yes and asked for one taco. She didn't think only one would be enough since his appearance made it look as if he really needed more than that; so, she decided to get a whole taco meal. The nudge came again. "Eat with him." He smelled very bad, and she didn't want to do that, but she did. After conversation and the meal, he asked her a question she never could have expected to hear. He wondered who did she want him to kill for her? She couldn't believe it, and neither could he. He figured she wanted something from him. Payment for her kind act.

Well, the meal ended after her having spoken to him about God's love for him, shown by Jesus' death on the cross, but there was yet one more nudge. "Hug him." This time, she didn't really hesitate, and once again, his response was surprising. It has been forty years since someone had hugged him. Forty years! There was yet one more surprise coming for this horse loving woman. She saw the man at a mission two weeks later, and he had given his life into Jesus' care. What a picture of someone who was listening and then acting on what she believed was God's leading. Even though she was at first, reluctant, the Lord shone His love through her into the life of a man He wanted to touch. It wasn't enough to be in tune with God's heart, she needed to obey His leading. God wanted her to show and tell this man about the God Who truly loved him.

Samuel's early life displayed this same kind of a listening and then doing that Rebecca Ondov displayed in her dealing with the man on the street. In 1 Samuel 3:1-18, we read the story of a child who was longed for by his mother Hannah. For years, Hannah had been unable to become pregnant. She was heartbroken and tormented by Peninnah, her husband's other wife who had many children. One day, Hannah cried out to God. Asking for a son whom she promised would be dedicated to the Lord if He would answer her prayer. Samuel was the fruit of Hannah's prayers, and Hannah gave him into the Lord's service, 1 Samuel 1:20-28, and that is where we meet Samuel in 1 Samuel 3. One night, Samuel heard someone calling him. Surely, the priest Eli; so, Samuel went to him, but Eli hadn't called. This same thing happened two other times before the old priest realized that it was the Lord who had been calling Samuel; so, Eli told Samuel to say, "speak Lord, Your servant is listening." Sure enough, God had a message for young Samuel, and it was not a message filled with fluffy words. No, it was a message of judgment that would come to Eli's household because of the priest's having not restrained his sons’ improper behavior. A tough message to have to share, but listening to the voice of God was just the beginning. Samuel was responsible to relay the truths God had given him, and even though he was afraid, he did just that.

In 1 Samuel 3:19-21, we read that God continued to reveal Himself to Samuel. The people knew that Samuel was God's prophet because what he said, proved to be true. He faithfully gave the people God's Word.

What a good picture of the heart that honors God. The kind of a heart that wants to not only hear truth but act upon it. In John 14:15 and John 14:21, Jesus connects our obedience with love for Him. He promises that He will show Himself to us too. We do not act on His leading because of fear but out of love for the One Who first loved us, 1 John 4:19.

A prayer for today: Psalm 25:5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.