13 May ESOCS Devotional
TEXT: 1SAMUEL 3:1-21
MEMORY VERSE
“I have already told him that I am going to punish his family forever because his sons have spoken evil things against me. Eli knew they were doing this, but he did not stop them,.” 1Samuel 3:13
God has made the world and human life in such a way that roles are assigned to us according to either whom we are(parents, priests, children, etc.) or what He has called us to be(prophets, preachers, administrators, etc.). The only way we can make God happy is to play those roles carefully and courageously. In our text today, we read how he neglect to play a parental role brought everlasting calamity to Eli and his family.
In the first place, you must allow yourself to be taught and groomed by those in whose hands God has put the mission to teach and groom others. Samuel’s life in the service of God was because of the vow they made to God. Eli the priest had the role to groom him. In verse 1, we read, “In those days, when the boy Samuel was serving the LORD under the direction of Eli, there were very few messages from the LORD, and visions from him were quite rare.”
Read yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Despite your calling and how important what you do is to the Church or family, you must not neglect the impute of a senior master in the field or in the manner you execute your role. God spoke to Samuel but Samuel did not understand that it was God speaking. He took the part of a humble servant in following the instruction of Eli. In verses 9-10, we read thus, “…Go back to bed and if he calls you again, say, speak, LORD, your servant is listening…. The LORD came and stood there, and called…. Samuel answered, Speak, your servant is listening.” (See also verses 2-8 of the text).
It is not proper to refuse to speak when you ought to speak to either give direction according to the word of God or correct misbehaviour when you have to. In verses 17 and 18 of our text, we see that Samuel spoke out to reveal the message God gave him for Eli when Eli demanded for it. Whereas the LORD noted in verse 13 that Eli knew of the sinful conduct of his children but did not stop them. We should therefore know that the only way we can sustain the position God has given us in life and live long to exercise God’s power is to be diligent in carrying out our roles. In verse 19, we read, “As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and made come true everything that Samuel said.”
CHALLENGES
√ What difficulties do you have playing your roles correctly and successfully?
PRAYER POINT
√ O Lord, give me the grace to function properly in my roles, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
13 May ESOCS Devotional – FURTHER READING
√ 1Samuel 4:1-22; Revelation 4:1-11; 5:1-8
Inspirational