Bible Verses to Explore: 1 Samuel 3:1-14
God called Samuel three times before Eli, the priest, realized that it was God who was calling Samuel. Eli told Samuel to say, “Speak, Lord. I am your servant, and I am listening”
(1Samuel 3:10). When Samuel realized that the voice he heard was God’s voice, Samuel listened and paid attention to God right away.
Remember when you were a kid? Your mom asked you to pick up your room? You ignored her. Then she told you to pick up your room. You said you’d do it later. The room never got cleaned. Then she punished you. That got your attention!
If only you had obeyed. Your mom never would have punished you or even have threatened to punish you. The punishment was necessary to get your attention and cause you to obey. Sometimes the troubles we have
are like that.
God asks us to do something. We ignore him. Then He tells us to do it. We say we’ll do it later. We never obey. He punishes us for disobeying Him. That punishment finally gets our attention.
Does God have your attention, or is it going to take some big trouble in your life to make you serious about obeying God?
Let’s all “Be careful and don't refuse to listen when God speaks” (Hebrews 12:25a).
Please pray with me…Heavenly Father, we don’t need to be told twice. Help us to obey You now. In Jesus’ name. Amen.