Dare To BeSample

When God is writing a once upon a time moment in our lives, He’s the one who gets to control the script. The opening line is always His, and then the response is on us. 

Often the first line of the chapter God wants to write can put us off. The start of the story leaves more questions than answers, requiring an element of bravery and daring from the very beginning. We have to navigate uncertainties: Is this really God speaking? Am I making this up? 

Sometimes our usual is challenged when it meets God’s unusual. We see this in the story of Samuel and Eli, told in 1 Samuel 3:2-10. Samuel was being mentored and trained by the older priest and servant of God, Eli. 

According to 1 Samuel, one night, Samuel was asleep near the ark of God. The young boy was in proximity to God’s presence, and it was in that place he found his once upon a time moment as God called to him. 

Yet we are told that at first that Samuel ran to Eli, thinking it was his voice calling for him to come. Eli, “in his usual place” (verse 2), couldn’t hear what Samuel heard, so he dismissed him and sent him back to his sleep. This happened several times until Eli eventually realized this was God calling, and Samuel needed to respond. This was the part of Samuel’s story where he needed to go and engage with God for himself. 

Sometimes our “usual place” mentality can make us dismiss moments when God is calling to us. God tries to get our attention, and we just think, It’s nothing. It was just an idea. It wasn’t significant. But some of the most significant moments often come disguised as some of the simplest acts of obedience.

Remember the boy who gave his lunch (John 6:5-13)? He could have thought, Why offer something that seems so insignificant? He could have seen the disciples and the people around Jesus and disqualified himself from being able to approach them, never mind offering his lunch as part of the solution. Yet his supporting role became central to the miracle of feeding 5,000. 

Our purpose is to tell the greater story. In what area of your life do you need to pray, Wake me up, Lord? Where do you need to allow His power and passion to take the pen and write your next page?