Mensa Otabil - God's Persistence
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One of the things we learned about God in His encounter with Samuel is God’s persistence. In 1 Samuel 3:8, it says, «And the Lord called Samuel again the third time.» So he arose and went to Eli and said, «Here I am, for you did call me.» Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. God did not give up on Samuel; He called him again the third time. This is an act of God’s grace in manifestation, showing that the God we serve pursues us relentlessly. He doesn’t give up on us, even when we don’t catch what He’s trying to communicate. God’s grace pursued Samuel after two failed opportunities. We must understand that God does not simply write us off because we are not getting it, even if we are making mistakes. We may not fully understand what He is saying, but He doesn’t write us off; He has invested grace in us.
On that one night, Samuel didn’t get it twice, but God spoke to him a third time. Many times, in our own lives, we look at our failures and disappointments and write ourselves off when God hasn’t done so. His grace is still pursuing us; He still wants to accomplish what He purposed for our lives, even if we haven’t yielded fully to Him. Sometimes we reflect on opportunities we’ve squandered in the past and think that God will not give us another chance. We need to understand that we cannot see God only through the lens of what He expects from us; we must also see Him in light of what He can do with us. He expects something from us; if we don’t have it, He can still work with us. God’s grace is a very powerful thing, and we must trust that His grace will be our sufficiency. He can lift us to heights from which we have fallen. He can restore us and provide us with opportunities in life.
Now, God’s grace was not only for Samuel; it was also for Eli. Eli was a mature priest who, ordinarily, should have discerned the voice of God. In fact, he should have been the one God was speaking to, but Eli also missed it twice. He didn’t know what was going on. However, the third time, he got it right for Samuel, even though God hadn’t spoken to him directly. Eli had a sense of God’s ways; he had been walking with the Lord for many years and lived in the temple for so long. He knew the ways of God, so he could discern that it was God speaking to the young boy. What a blessing in life to have someone like Eli—who is not self-centered, bitter, or angry because their time has passed, nor is he trying to destroy the opportunities of young people. Eli knew his time was past; he understood that God was doing a new thing that didn’t include him, yet he wanted to be part of what God was doing.
To me, that is the mark of maturity: knowing when to step off the stage and to help new people come onto the stage. May the Lord give you the right Eli, who will not be jealous of your season and your time but who will encourage you to become the person that God wants you to be. From this passage, we learn about God’s persistence; He called the first time and didn’t get a good response. The second time, there was still no good response, and on the third, Samuel still missed it—but that’s when Eli caught it and realized that God had called the boy. May the Lord persist until He gets you to do what He wants you to do, in Jesus' name.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, thank You for pursuing me relentlessly. Help me to see and hear what You are revealing to me. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.» I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.