Eli growled and rolled over. "What?" Young Samuel loomed over him, looking eager to please.
At two in the morning, no less!
"You called for me, Master Eli. You did not hear my reply, so I came to speak with you directly." Samuel grinned triumphantly, surely thinking this was a test, and he had passed.
Eli sighed. Samuel meant well. "I did not call. Go back to sleep."
Samuel's brows furrowed together in a look of confusion, but he didn't argue. Eli rolled over again, and smirked. Yahweh let him sleep!
"Master Eli."
Oh, not again! This was the third time Samuel had woken him up, claiming Eli had called him. He was at a special breaking point reserved for sleep deprivation victims.
"Here I am, for you called me." His exasperated tone portrayed just how frustrated he was with the situation.
Eli sighed. He was about to dismiss Samuel again when a thought popped into his sleepy brain. Who is calling Samuel? Could it be Yahweh? Suddenly Eli was certain. It was Yahweh. He was calling to Samuel, waiting for Samuel to hear Him, and respond. "Samuel, go lie down. Next time He calls you, answer Him." Samuel's eyebrows shot up with realization. He smiled reassuringly. "Say, 'Speak Lord, for your servant hears."
Samuel laid on his makeshift bed in the temple. He wiggled around, trying to get comfortable. Everything was quiet. The flame of the lamp of God still burned brightly. Shadows flickered on the wall as the flame flickered in it's fiery dance. Perhaps Samuel had been dreaming, and no one was calling him. He was exhausted. Anything was possible.
"Samuel!"
Samuel's heart started beating rapidly. This was no dream. The Lord was calling him. He felt the heat from the burning lamp on his face. Eli told him to answer the Lord.
Would he? Could he?
The mighty, powerful I Am wanted to talk with him. Why? Samuel couldn't shake the feeling that his decision to answer God would be life-changing.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He felt a presence in the chamber with Him. Samuel looked around the room. He couldn't see anyone, but as surely as he knew grapes were disgusting, he knew Someone was standing in this room, speaking to him.
"Samuel!"
The Lord was here, in the room with him. He was calling to Samuel, waiting for him to answer, and come to him. A passion welled up in his soul. He wanted to serve God. This was what he had been working towards his whole life. He had spent countless hours ministering to God in the temple. It was actually astounding to even be hearing Yahweh's voice. The word of God was very rare. Many of the priests had never heard his voice. Samuel shook his head in wonder. Here he was, just a young boy, hearing God.
In that instant, all his doubt vanished. God wasn't forcing this on him. He was giving Samuel a choice. A choice to choose Him, or reject Him.
"Speak, for your servant hears."
Based on 1 Samuel 1:1-10
The first time Samuel heard God's voice, He didn't have a clue what was happening. He thought Eli was calling him. It took being woken by Samuel three times before Eli realized, Who was speaking.
Have you ever wondered why God didn't just say, "Samuel, it's Me
I don't believe Samuel repeated those words out of an obligation to Eli. When they realized God was talking, Samuel was faced with a choice: go to God, or go to sleep?
"Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision." 1 Samuel 1:1
Samuel had a heart to minister to and for God. He wanted to serve God. Ultimately, that's why he spoke up, instead of pretending not to hear, like we so often do...
God didn't speak because He wanted Samuel to come to Him. He wanted Samuel to choose Him.
"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
God has always been saying, "Pick me. Choose me. Love me." He has always been yearning for us to look His way, acknowledge His voice, hear Him. He was never supposed to be a wallflower in our lives. He was supposed to be front and center. I'm not quoting the lyrics to a country song, and this is more heart-wrenching then any Taylor Swift song. Our God loves us, and He wants us to want Him. To choose Him. To love Him.
Joshua said it best when he said, "Choose this day whom you will serve,...But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15
Who will you choose? Will you pick the Lord, our loving, amazing God Who chose you?
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