FAITHFULNESS - Champions by the Fruit of the SpiritSample

Faithfulness vs Hesitation

Bible story: The Lord calls Samuel 1 Samuel 3:1-21

Theme Verse: Hebrews 11:1

Our match fight this week is faithfulness against hesitation. It is very important that we respond to God, and it is a huge part of being a faithful Christian. God speaks to us in many ways, but oftentimes, we do not want to stop and listen to Him. We choose to pause and wait before responding to God. Sometimes, we give no answer at all, hoping that God will not notice. How can we know if it was God talking to us? Have you ever experienced doubts that God was actually asking you to do something?

Today’s Bible story is about a young boy who also experienced doubts that God was talking to him. Samuel was a young boy who was given to the Lord by his mother. Even though he was still young, Samuel lived in the temple and served God and the priest Eli. One night, as they were going to sleep at night, Samuel heard someone calling him. He assumed it was the priest, Eli, so he got up and went to the priest. However, Eli said, “I did not call, go back and lie down.” This happened two more times, and the priest Eli told Samuel to lie back down.

However, each time, Samuel was sure someone had called him! On the third time, the priest Eli figured out that it must have been God's calling to Samuel. He instructed Samuel to answer God by saying, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” When God called Samuel again, he was ready and responded to God perfectly! Then God gave a special word to Samuel, and his life as a prophet began, even though he was still young. It is not important how old you are or how damaged you feel. God looks for boys and girls who will listen to His voice and will believe and obey.

One sin that we fight is the temptation to hesitate or wait before responding to God. In the case of Samuel, he did not respond correctly until the 4th time, but that was acceptable to God. If you think about it, Samuel still responded on the same evening. However, what will happen if God calls us to action but we do not respond on the same evening? What if we wait a week to respond to God? Maybe God will show you someone at school who needs help. Will you hesitate or quickly respond?

Our memory verse for today shows that being confident in a God we cannot see means we have faith. Believing that He has called to us, even though we cannot hear Him with our ears, means we have faith. If you and I are going to have a strong faith, one that can win matches, we must believe when God speaks to us. And if we truly believe, we will act without much hesitation!

Questions:

1. When does “silence” actually mean the answer is “no”?

2. Has God ever asked you to do something? How did you know it was God?

3. How can we overcome doubts that God wants us in a certain town, job, or friendship?

Life Application:

Ask God to speak to you this week and to have you do something. Practice obeying immediately without hesitation. If you forget and hesitate, ask God for another assignment.