“Serving God But Not Yet Called!”

“Serving God But Not Yet Called!”(I Sam.3:1-20).
Hannah had cried in the house of the LORD, and the LORD gave her a son whom she named Samuel. She had made a promise that as soon as she weaned Samuel, she would bring him to serve the LORD. True to her word, she did just that.
Hannah brought Samuel to serve under Eli at a time when Eli’s sons had blasphemed God. Eli knew about his sons’ sins. God had sworn that “The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”
Samuel entered the service of the LORD in the temple at a time when “the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.”
It was during this period of his ministration that the LORD called Samuel at night. Three times the Lord called, and three times Samuel ran to Eli, thinking he was the one calling him.
Eli realised it was the LORD and told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'”
Samuel went, and when the LORD called again, he did as Eli had ordered him.
The LORD revealed to Samuel what he intended to do to Eli’s house. Eli asked Samuel to tell him everything the LORD had told him without hiding anything. Samuel did just that.
Eli accepted the LORD’S decision with surrender: “He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes.”
Eli’s words teach us to accept the LORD’S justice because he is impartial in his judgments.
Back to Samuel: “The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognised that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD.”
Some years back, a classmate from Eswatini asked me, “When did you receive Christ?” It took me some time to digest the question. Being a Christian does not mean you have received Christ. Ministering in the LORD’S service does not mean he has called you. Eli’s sons were serving the LORD, but he did not call them. Hannah brought Samuel to serve God, and only during his time of service that God called him to become a renowned prophet.
God does not work on the agenda of human beings. He sets his agenda according to his timing!
After his call, Samuel became the last of the prophets to serve as prime minister under God’s theocratic rule. It was Samuel who anointed Saul as the first king of Israel, initiating a paradigm shift from a theocracy to a kingdom. When Saul fell out of favour, it was Samuel who anointed David as the second king of Israel. David did not only become a powerful king but also the ancestor of the Messiah; thanks to the anointing of God that he received from the hand of Samuel.
My friend, you may be in the service of the LORD, but have you eaten his word? Has he called you yet? There is no gainsaying that you are a Christian, but have you received Christ? It is a true saying that “many are called but few are chosen.” Are you among the chosen or you are satisfied with being a floor member carrying the tag “Christian?” These are questions whose answers come from the conviction of what you have internalised.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me to hear the call of the LORD and be responsive to his call. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you! Merry Christmas and a fulfilling New Year!
Rev Babila Fochang.
20/01/2026.