“As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable…And all Israel…knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord…
And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel.”
1 Samuel 3:19-20; 4:1
Since toddler age when Samuel’s mother brought him to the Tabernacle, Samuel lived in God’s dwelling place! There, Eli certainly taught young Samuel all about God and how to worship Him. Yet even though he slept near the Ark, Samuel still did not know God personally until the Lord came and called him by name. Samuel’s immediate response began a very special relationship!
I see two important factors about that relationship: One, “…the LORD was with him.” God never pushes Himself on anyone, but when we respond to God’s call, He promises to be with us! And two, because GOD was with Samuel, his words were trustworthy. Everyone knew that GOD spoke through this man, because he lived with God, and God lived with him!
Like Samuel, we too can hang out in the places where God’s people worship, but until we respond to God’s personal call, we will never experience HIS presence with us. However, when we open our hearts to Him, God will continue to appear and speak, just like He did to Samuel. And those words God spoke were shared with all the people!
When the Lord is with us…what a conduit of blessing we too become…
As we share HIS words with everyone around us!
