1st Samuel 1

Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."

(1Sa 1:11)

This chapter marks a period of transition for the children of Israel. In it we see the birth of Samuel, a young man born with a great call upon his life, created to fulfill a very specific purpose. Samuel is the last of Israel’s judges, and the first of their prophets. He would also be the one to anoint the first 2 kings of Israel, Saul and David. Samuel’s life is an incredible picture of how God can use one committed person to completely transform a nation.

We see that Samuel’s story begins before he is even in the womb! What an incredible thought, God knew of Samuel long before he had even been thought of, long before he began to grow in his mother’s womb. The question mark wasn’t what God had planned for Samuel; it was what Samuel would do with all that God had planned for Him. Listen to what the Lord said to Jeremiah when He called him. “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."” (Jer 1:4-5) Before God had formed Jeremiah, He knew Jeremiah and had a plan for his life. I would venture to say that God has a plan for all of us, and that plan has long been ordained. The question for us is simple; will we obey Him? As we enter the study of the life of Samuel, I can’t help but think about Samson, and the way he threw away the plan God had for his life; chasing the lusts of his flesh rather than the heart of God.

What about You? God has a plan for your life; will you follow Him as He leads you into it, or will you run the other way? Fulfilling your calling is as simple as OBEYING THE LORD. Often we run around saying “what is God’s will for my life”? If we would just focus on Jesus and following Him, it would come naturally. I love Samuel’s life, because all He did was follow the Lord… Love the Lord and worship the Lord right where he was at. God did great things through Samuel without Samuel ever having to seek them.

Boys and girls, where does God have you right now? Are you going to follow Him WHERE YOU ARE, or are you going to chase after your own desires? The best advice I think I could ever give you about discerning God’s will is this: BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED. Don’t fret with where you are, are where your life is going; focus on WHAT you are (a little Christ) and WHAT you should be doing (following Him). The rest is just details!