Scared
In December, 2003the youth at my church presented the musical "The Surprising
Christmas Pageant ( The Story of the Birth of Christ Told with Humor, Mystery
and Awe)" by Dennis Hartin. In this musical an angel went to Mary and told her
the message from God about her giving birth to Jesus Christ. Then the angel went
to Joseph and told him about Mary who is going to give birth to the Messiah.
When the angel appeared, both Mary and Joseph said, "It's an alien!" The angel
then had to tell them it was not an alien but and angel with a message from god.
When the angel was finished both Mary and Joseph said, "I would be less scared
if you were an alien." Samuel might have thought the same thing in the following
Scripture:
"And the Lord came and called as before, 'Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel
replied, 'Yes, your servant is listening.' Then the Lord said to Samuel, 'I am
about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats
against Eli and his family. I have warned him continually that judgment is
coming for his family, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn't
disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never
be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.' Samuel stayed in bed until morning,
then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to
tell Eli what the Lord had said to him." (1 Samuel 3:10-15 NLT) [1]
This was the first time Samuel had ever heard God speaking to him. It took God
three times to get Samuel's attention. When Eli finally figured out that God was
trying to talk to Samuel, Samuel was scared. This was a heavy load to put on
anyone.
Why don't people listen for and to God today? You might do your duty and read
your chapter of Scripture almost every day but you don't take time to meditate
on it and let God speak to you through it. You might spend a little time in
prayer but it is just giving God your wish list of things you want him to do for
you. You don't take time after your talking to allow God to talk to you. Could
it be because you are scared of what God might say to you? You might hear God
tell you to do something like God told Samuel to do or like what God said to
Moses at the burning bush. God had things for these two people to do for Him.
When He talks to you, He may have something for you to do. No matter what God
has to say, He can't say it unless you listen. Take time to listen to God. He
may just want to say, "I LOVE YOU!"
By Dean W. Masters
Unedited redistribution approved