To Encourage You

1 Peter 3:9 “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”

In the book of 1 Samuel, we read the account of the young boy Samuel in the temple.  His mother Hannah had dedicated him to the Lord, and Samuel lived in the temple under the tutelage of the high priest Eli.  We are told that one night Samuel heard a voice calling “Samuel.”  Of course, since Eli was the only other person present, Samuel went to him and asked him what he wanted.  But Eli replied, “I did not call; lie down again” (1 Samuel 3:5).  This happened again, with the same response by Samuel and the same answer from Eli. Then, when it happened the third time, we are told that “Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the young man. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.”’”  

Can you imagine what that must have been like, to actually hear God’s voice calling you like this?  Isn’t it interesting that although God was talking to Samuel, he didn’t realize it?  It had to be pointed out to him by Eli. Well, do you know that there is a very similar situation being explained in the passage above from 1 Peter 3, but it isn’t Eli speaking to Samuel; rather, it is the apostle Peter speaking to you and me.  He’s telling us that we who believe in Christ “were called” by Him.  He’s telling us what he has perceived by the Holy Spirit that there are things that God is telling us. It is God Himself that is saying to us “(put your name in here), listen to me!”  So, what’s He saying to you and me, personally.  It’s the words of the Bible. The apostle Paul said as much to his protégé Timothy when he said, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). 

So do you understand this?  Do you realize that ALL SCRIPTURE has been breathed out by God with a message to you? Each morning as you open your eyes and choose to open the Word of God you can be sure that God is calling you by name by what it says, and you can respond to that call by the simple words that Eli told Samuel to say, i.e., “Speak Lord for your servant hears.”  It’s the same prayer that the psalmist prayed when he said, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18).  So, are you doing this?  Do you perceive what is very true, that God is calling you, personally, by name, as you open His Word, and you can talk to Him, by name, asking Him to help you to hear?  

During Jesus’ time on earth, He often began what He said with the word “Listen!” or “Hear me” or “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:3, 9, 23; Mark 7:14). Likewise, there are a number of places where God the Father said of Jesus, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him” (Mark 9:7, 35).  Jesus said this of His true followers: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). You can be sure if both Jesus and His Father said such things, that they are speaking and we can hear – if we just perceive.  

May God help us to come to His Word each day with the realization that God is speaking to us. May the prayer of our heart be “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” May He give us the desire, the perception, and the wisdom to hear, and when we understand what He is saying to us, to trust Him and obey.