And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. –
1 Samuel 3:8
God did not give up on Samuel. He called him again the third time. This act of persistence is a manifestation of God’s grace in action. His grace pursued Samuel even when he missed the first two opportunities the Lord had given him.1 Samuel 3:8
We serve a God who pursues us relentlessly. He does not write us off simply because we struggle to understand Him or His counsel for our lives. Twice in one night, Samuel had heard from God and misinterpreted what he heard. Then He heard God a third time.
Many times, in our disappointment at our failures, we can write ourselves off when the Lord is still working on us. We can look at the opportunities we’ve squandered in the past and think that God is tired of us. We must indeed be diligent and learn to redeem the time.
But we cannot see God only in the light of what He expects from us without seeing what He can do with us. When we fall short of His expectation, He can lift us up to the heights from which we have fallen. May the Lord give each one of us another opportunity to do what He has called us to do.
God’s grace was not only made available to Samuel; it was also to Eli. Here was a mature priest. Ordinarily, Eli should have been the one God spoke to, but the Lord had bypassed him. Even if he didn’t hear the voice that called Samuel, Eli should have discerned the will of God. At this point, both the spiritual novice and the mature priest had missed God. Thank God for His grace, that is our sufficiency.
By the third call, Eli had become spiritually alert. As a priestly long-standing stature, Eli must have heard the voice of God over and over. He understood the urgency with which the Lord spoke. He perceived that it was the Lord calling the boy. What a blessing it is to have someone who can help us to understand the meaning of what we hear.
Eli was not offended that the Lord had bypassed him to speak to the young boy he had received into the tabernacle. He was a real priest at heart; one who only sought the glory of the Lord. May God help each one of us to be like Eli, in this sense; elders or bosses who can see the potential in our proteges that they cannot see for themselves.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for pursuing me relentlessly. Help me to see and hear what You’re revealing to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!Scripture Reading:
1 Samuel 3
CrossoverWithOtabil
YearOfExcellence
