Here Am I!
Greetings to all my friends in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ! All the glory to my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ!
1 Sam.3:2-4,” And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see, 3 and before the lamp of God went out in the [a]tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, 4 that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!””
When the Lord closed the womb of Hannah and blessed Peninah with children, He had a purpose in his heart. It was not to frustrate Hannah or to destroy her. But the burden for the sanctity of the temple of God in Shiloh was much. The sons of Eli, the priest did not fear God and snatched the flesh brought by the people for sacrifices to fill their own belly. Eli honored his sons above God and refused to restrain them from sinning. People could not offer sacrifices as per the law. Hence, the Lord decided to judge him by removing him from the ministry and rise up another person to guide the congregation in God’s ways. At this juncture, Eli was lying down and the lamp of God was about to go out, which as per the commandment of the Lord should not be allowed to be put out (Ex.27:21). Before it went out, God called Samuel. God is faithful to finish the good work He started. When Eli failed to be faithful, before removing him from his office, God faithfully called and appointed Samuel to faithfully lead the people. Samuel answered, “Here I am !”
Today, the heaven is burdened with many servants of God who have become unfaithful in their ministry. They had started off well but later got deviated from the Lord. They are self centered and hence, the congregation of many churches are frustrated and feel lost spiritually, with no one to guide them in the right way. They have become spiritually blinded, unable to discern the things of the Lord and have lead many lives into chaos and confusion. Jer.12:10, “Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. But the Lord cannot forsake His people, His body. Just as the Lord called Samuel, He is calling many to take their places. Let’s pray that the one’s who are being called are able to respond as Samuel responded. He submitted and made himself available for the Lord. He was established as prophet of God from Dan to Beersheba (1 Sam.3;20). The Lord revealed Himself to Samuel by the Word of the Lord (1 Sam. 3:21) and Samuel in turn, lead the people by making them know His counsel. May the ones called by the Lord make themselves available for the Lord and be the mouth of the Lord, counselling them in His ways alone.
Ex.3:4, “4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” After Joseph died, the Israelites increased in number exceedingly and the land was filled with them. The new Pharaoh, who did not know Joseph, feared the exceeding number of Israelites. Hence, he decided to oppress them, and made them slaves. They went through much pain and burden and cried out to God. Ex.2:24-25, “So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.’ The Lord could not be silent after hearing their groaning. God soon called Moses and anointed him to lead the Israelites out of bondage into the promised land of Canaan. He appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. Moses responded by saying, “Here I am !”. Though he felt hesitant and incapable for the great role, ultimately he submitted and lead the great congregation of the Lord out of bondage.
Today, many who know the Lord are being oppressed. Though they know the truth, they lack spiritual strength to come out of certain oppressing situations of life. God is calling many to be like Moses, to lead them out of bondage. Is.61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to [a]heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” Moses who was brought up in Pharaoh’s palace chose to give up the luxurious life and identify himself with his afflicted brethren. We need to give up our comfort zone to identify ourselves with the pain of our oppressed brothers and sisters in Christ. Then only can we cry out and groan in prayers for them and see them being set free by the Lord. May the Lord strengthen us to move out of our comfort zone and reach out to the oppressed ones.
Is.6:7-8, “ And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin [b]purged.” 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah was a prophet of God. When he saw the vision of the Lord sitting on high and lifted up throne, he was convicted of his own unclean lips and cried out in fear. For it was that anyone who saw the Lord would not live. But the response from heaven he got comforted him and strengthened him. He was offered forgiveness. One of the seraphim took a live coal from the altar and touched the prophet’s lips, saying, “your iniquity has been taken away’. And very soon the voice of the Lord was heard saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us ?”
Today too, the heaven calls each of us for growing in holiness. Prophet Isaiah needed to grow in holiness, for which the Lord revealed Himself in a vision. The church today needs to see the vision of the Lord, through His Word and revelations, so as to be convicted of the many hidden sins of our lives. The Lord freely gives forgiveness to all who repent. The body of Christ needs to repent and to grow in holiness in a steadfast manner, for often, it seems to have an “ok attitude” towards sin. This can slowly harden one’s heart and loose the sensitivity towards holiness of God. No man shall see God without holiness (Hebr.12:14). Isaiah resubmitted himself to the divine call. Only by growing in holiness, can we be renewed to submit to our calling in a deeper and more effective manner and say, “here am I ! Send me.”
As Samuel said, “here I am”, he submitted himself to make himself available for the Lord and to guide the congregation as per His counsel. As Moses said, ‘here I am”, he chose to move out of his comfort zone to identify himself with his suffering brethren. As Isaiah said, “here I am”, he offered himself to be purified, renewed and then submit in a deeper way. God continues to call His children to restore the sanctity of His body, to free the oppressed and to lead the church into deeper holiness and thus be prepared for His much awaited glorious return. May God strengthen us to respond by saying, “here I am!”
GOD bless us all.
For daily devotion join WhatsApp: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Cj5GHmqd3ShGUnrgbA2QMq
LATEST BLOG
Divine Yoke !
When most of us are so much centered around the burdens of our own life, let us realize that our Lord has expressed His burdens through His prophets, through His Word. And when we shift our focus from our burden to His burdens, He faithfully takes away our burdens. It does not mean that […]
