8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
1 Sam 3: 8-10
For a long while, I was the kind of Christian who spent her life jumping up and down before God, waving her hands and screaming: "Here I am!!! Send me!" I eventually got tired and disappointed and lowered my hands... lowered my voice, lowered my eyes. The look down was not so appealing: people with their hopes and pains, technical things like paying bills and grocery shopping, more people with their problems,... little things that screamed for my attention. But I didn't want to do little things, I wanted to do AMAZING THINGS FOR THE ALMIGHTY, I wanted to be called like Samuel, and all the other "Special Ones".
But The Almighty remained unmoved. I could not understand why God isn't "blessing my willing heart" like I was told He would. Why he didn't bless me "according to my faith".
But here's what I had forgotten.
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Mat 25:21 (ESV)
I could have saved myself some very uncomfortable situations if only I had kept the little things in check when there was no big mission to do. And that's just one thing.
The other thing that the little things really helped me with, was to appreciate life.
Life is made of moments; a heartfelt laugh with a dear friend, a good cry over a movie, a spark of hope in the eyes of a person who seemed to have given up, that little extra you can do to turn ordinary into extraordinary - and nobody has to know, getting lost in a new city, just barely catching the train, getting fired, landing a job/ apartment/ country you had never expected,...
Seeing the multitude of meaningful moments that God sends your way will shed a more realistic light on your problems. They become a part of life, just like any success - and there IS a time for everything.
The last, but certainly not least, taking care of little things made me more sensitive to subtle voice of God. The voice of God was not in the strong wind, not in the earthquake, not in fire, but in a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13). So gentle that a child would mistake it for the voice of a trusted mentor in another room.
It is quite possible that without the training in "little things service" we wouldn't be able to meet God's call with a childlike simplicity and faith, and maybe we wouldn't hear it at all. That doesn't mean The Almighty would give up on calling us; even Samuel needed to be summoned four times before he understood what was going on (with a little help from Eli). All I'm saying is that the things that require negligible amount of our attention, may turn out to be more meaningful than we ever dared to think possible.
After all, God did put us in the exact place and time where we are, according to his perfect plan to seek Him and find Him; a plan that is perfect for us.
- Honestly, what little things have you been avoiding?
- In your life with God, do you search for solutions to your problems, or His will?
4 comments:
I am always amazed at the things that encourage people. Usually it is the things I do not even pay attention to, things that to me are so ordinary and then I am all surprised when I hear "That is so encouraging sister" and in my head i think "really?". The woman who poured perfume on Jesus, may not have felt that she was doing much, the disciples thought it was a waste but "wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
It is true. These situations may seem meaningless, but in reality we don't know whose life is touched..
Silvija, your second question cuts. It's far easier for me to search for an easy way out than to look for the goodness of God- the lessons and joys of life- in the simple and mundane. Thanks!
=)
It's the most difficult question I've ever been asked..
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