The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:1-10)
In December, I started feeling I needed to get exercise equipment for my home. I started looking at ellipticals on Facebook marketplace. But then I decided not to get one because:
- I hate working out at home so doubted I would use it.
- I have free access to a gym through work.
- I didn’t want to spend the money on it.
Now, in this time of the Corona virus, I’m really really regretting not making that purchase.
There have been other moments where i have that strong pull to do something. For example, a few weeks ago I needed to go to the grocery store. Normally I would have put it off for a few days, but I felt that I needed to go on March 8, early in the morning. I did my usual shopping but also started putting other things in my cart. Things I wouldn’t usually buy. A large bag of potatoes (normally I just buy a few), extra flour and yeast, extra cans of tuna. Things like that. The next day, everything seemed to explode and people started buying out grocery stores.
I’ve had more incidences of that these past two weeks – a push to do certain things. Instead of ignoring them, like I did with that push to buy an elliptical? I’m doing them.
We are living in incredible times, my friends. It’s scary out there. I worry about everyone being safe. I read about the deaths from this virus and cry. I feel stretched thin. I know I’m taking on too much of this weight myself but have been finding it hard to let it go completely.
Then this weekend I spent time with my fella. He helped me see that I needed to take a break. I needed to let go of my outrage for a while. I needed to stop worrying about everything. (He’s pretty awesome at helping me chill out.)
So I unplugged myself from the news for a while. I spent more time reading the bible. I spent more time enjoying movies and relaxing with my guy.
Then I came home from his place and started right back up again. I couldn’t sleep last night for worrying.
Finally I got out of bed and spent time listening to God. I know it was His voice I was hearing at those times. I needed to thank Him for that but also hear what He wanted to tell me.
The message I felt He was sending me? To stop. To breathe. To lean on Him even more than I had been. To trust. To show His love to the world. So I sent some money to the Akron-Canton Food Bank. I called a friend to check in. I hugged my son.
I hope that you will join me in spending less time reading/watching the news and more time in silence, waiting to hear the voice of God.