The Lord Calls Yet Again

Today's Word of Encouragement from Wayne:

"The Lord called yet again, ‘Samuel!’"

1 Samuel 3: 6

The first time God called to him, Samuel did not know it was the Lord. Samuel got up and went to Eli, assuming he had called him, as he was sleeping in the temple next to the ark. Scripture goes on to tell us that, after Samuel reentered the temple and laid back down, "the Lord called yet again, ‘Samuel.’" The second time God called, He said "Samuel!" with an exclamation point, emphasizing His strong desire to speak to this small child who loved to minister to the Lord in His presence. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has spoken to us, saying, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10: 27).

Today, our Lord’s strong call and desire is upon us to minister to Him, as Samuel did, so we may actually hear our Shepherd’s voice, be filled with our Shepherd’s Spirit, and gain our Shepherd’s wisdom. God is calling us to Himself. God called to Samuel by name and God is calling us by name; "he calls his own sheep by name" (John 10:3). Samuel didn’t get it right the first time, so God called to him a second time. If we haven’t gotten it right the first time, let us hear God’s voice now, graciously calling us by name, so we may truly respond to, realize, and understand our Lord’s will for us that, in this present age, we would be the people of His presence (the sheep of His pasture) as His kingdom of priests (Revelation 5: 9-10). In ministering to our Lord, we are drawing near to God, near enough to hear His voice.

Our Lord wants us in His presence, near to Him, ministering to Him, so we may hear His voice and live in the blessing that our Good Shepherd spoke of when He said, "I know My own and My own know Me" (John 10:14). In ministering to the Lord, we are entering into oneness with God, in His presence, where we are continuously graced to be "transformed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18), even as we hear His voice. Beloved child of God, minister to your Lord today, in His presence, and hear His voice calling you by name, to Himself, that you might know Him even as He knows you. Hallelujah!