Answers God’s Call On His Life

Answers God’s Call On His Life

A HERO’S TALE

Have you ever heard voices in the night? Scary!

Okay, maybe you won’t admit to being scared of the dark. But plenty of kids are. Either way, it’s certainly no fun to hear strange noises in bed.

Well, that’s exactly what happened to little Samuel. One night, when Samuel was a young boy serving in the tabernacle, he heard a mysterious voice say his name. What would you have done? Hidden under the covers? Run screaming out of the room? Slowly reached for your lightsaber?

Samuel didn’t do any of that (lightsabers, of course, hadn’t been invented yet). He jumped out of bed and ran to Eli, the high priest, thinking Eli had called him.

But Eli hadn’t said a word. This happened two more times. Finally, Eli realized it was the Lord’s voice calling Samuel. He told Samuel to lie down and gave him instructions in case he heard the voice again.

A few moments later, the voice returned. “Samuel! Samuel!” it called. Samuel rose from his bed and responded like Eli had told him to. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening,” he said.

Then, God gave Samuel a difficult task: he told Samuel to tell Eli that Eli’s two sons would soon be punished without mercy for living wicked lives. Imagine having to tell a message like that to an important, powerful leader of your country who had been raising you since you were a toddler. That was the situation Samuel faced.

Amazingly, little Samuel faithfully obeyed God and eventually grew up to become one of Israel’s greatest prophets.

DECODING THE MESSAGE

God called Samuel in a unique way. But even today, thousands of years later, God still calls each of us to follow him (even though we might not be in our pajamas when he does). Maybe he’s calling you now, through this devotional book.

First, God calls us to put our trust in his Son, Jesus, for the forgiveness of our sins. Then, when we become his children through faith, he calls us to obey him and use our talents to serve him.

Samuel became a courageous prophet. What is God calling you to do? What talents is he calling you to use for his glory?

Whenever God calls you, make sure you respond like Samuel: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening!”

BATTLE PLAN

Ask your parents and others close to you what they think you’re good at. This could be a great first step at identifying what God’s calling on your life is.