"but Eli called
him and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’"
I remember lying in bed about three years ago. I was frustrated and at
my wits end. My life just seemed so empty even though it seemed like I had so much. My
heart seemed like it had a hole in it that ate at my soul. What was wrong? I had a great
job! I had great friends, and I was blessed with great family, but still something was
missing. I wasn’t happy, I felt empty, and alone. So there I was, laying in bed one
night, and I remember saying "I give up God ... I surrender, may your will be
done."
See I am a stubborn kind of guy. A ‘control freak’ if you
will. Sure I was a Christian, but only on my own terms. I was constantly trying to make
God’s plan ‘fit’ into my plans. It just doesn’t work that way, and I
had to walk a bumpy path to find that out. Well actually I had to fall off a few cliffs on
my path before I figured things out. Life isn’t about money, or power, or prestige.
Yeah, I needed some cliffs and "thanks be to God" for those cliffs! Had they not
been there I would still be living life my own way.
Why is it so hard for some of us to say, "speak, your servant is
listening," when God calls to us? I thank God daily that he loves me so much that he
never gave up on me. So many great blessings have come my way since that night. I could
write books on the many blessing God has granted me since then! Perhaps you are like I was
too. Perhaps your heart has a hole in it big enough to drive a bus through. Perhaps
something eats at your soul ... and you wonder "why?" God calls us to serve.
"Here I am, Lord." What a powerful phrase! Samuel, who was just a young boy,
answered God’s calling with "here I am," and he was blessed.
