At just the right time the Lord called Samuel who was a young boy. 1 Samuel 3: 2 One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. 4 Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!” “Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” [1]
God could have called him earlier or much later in life, but He chose a particular time in his life to fulfill His plans. God had a plan for Samuel and for it to be fulfilled, God called him at a certain time. God also has a plan for you, which is very amazing! Psalm 139:16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. [2]
The Lord knows what will be the most fulfilling and fruitful for each of us. He will call us according to His timing so that we can live out His plan. It is amazing to think that God cares for each of us so much that He took time to develop a plan for us. When I was 37 years old, the Lord called me into to fulltime ministry. He could have called me earlier or later, but that was not God’s plan. I was married seven years to the day when I began to study at the seminary.
God had great plans for Samuel and He also has great plans for your life. Take time to reflect and pray about your own life to see the Lord’s timing. Ask the Lord to bring to your heart significant things that happened in your life and how that related to God’s timing.
It can be hard to trust in God’s timing. We are a people who want what we want and would prefer it right now. Sometimes it seems as if we are not even on God’s clock. Yet, there is never a time in which He is not aware of the desires of our hearts. He does, however, know better than we do. His timing will always be perfect, even when our trust in it is not. Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. [3]
To hear more about the call of Samuel, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/the-call/the-call-samuel
[1-3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.