…Samuel was laid down to sleep; That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. – 1 Samuel 3:3-4 (KJV)
When reading the story of Samuel this morning, the words “Here am I” seemingly leaped from the page. I was immediately reminded of the same phrase as it spilled from Isaiah’s freshly-anointed lips. “Here am I,” was spoken by Abraham, Moses, and Jacob as they responded to the call of the Lord upon their lives. It’s a phrase I too have uttered to the Lord, not really realizing the full significance of what I was actually saying.
So what’s the significance of these particular words? They don’t tell our all-knowing God about an individual’s geographic location. The Hebrew form of these words, translated “Hineni,” is an affirmative response a child would give a Father, agreeing to the terms of a yet unknown call. Several years ago, in wild-eyed, youthful excitement, I accepted that “blank contract” from God as I promised to be obedient and to always respond to His leading with an unwavering, “Yes!” But in addition to my call still being unknown at that point, so was my understanding of the challenges that would come to test and grow my faith along the way!
All these years later, God has done so many amazing things, but I’m still waiting for the fullness of that calling to come to fruition. As I wait…I have to be completely honest here…I can find myself becoming “weary in well doing.” You know what I mean? In recent days, my generally present optimism has been rather difficult to find. I’ve really struggled with where I am in light of where I’ve felt I ought to be at this point. I’ve battled a constant sense of dissatisfaction as confusion has tried to cloud my mind. I have felt overwhelmed and exhausted and unsure of my own ability to hear from God. Distractions have come in the form of financial and career struggles, health scares, broken pipes, dog surgeries, car trouble, lies, scams, and disappointment. A girl could get lost in this place, where darkness closes in and a heart becomes heavy with fear. I thought I was handling it all okay, but the pressure kept mounting as the attacks increased in frequency and intensity. Until finally, the pressure all came to a head and I lashed out in an absolute fit—unlike anything I’ve thrown in years. It got loud and it got messy.
But you know where I ended up? On my knees. Thank God! Heaving, sobbing, and letting go…again. I was irritated I had allowed things to drift to this point but thankful I had finally gotten here. As I began to look at the bigger picture, I started to recognize a few common themes: distractions, confusion, fear, and lies—all products of the enemy. The devil is the father of lies and the author of confusion. He uses fear, distraction, manipulation, and emotion to try to get us to focus on him instead of our perfect, loving Father.
Circumstances have never been my problem…My problem is focus. In the chaotic darkness of the mess, the soft Light of God shines brightest. I wasted so much time talking to God about my circumstances that I failed to remember Who He really is in the midst of them. Shifting my focus back onto my good and loving Daddy really downsized the whole thing, back into its proper proportions.
The devil is not the opposite of God. He doesn’t even come close to measuring up. Yet, too often, we give him credit for being able to do things he can’t do. He can’t read our minds, but he can hear our words; so it’s important to keep our speech in line with what God has to say about us. The devil can’t make us do anything. God could, but he doesn’t. He created us with free will because He wanted our decisions to pursue Him to be voluntary and therefore valuable. The enemy can’t steal what God gives us. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. But all God’s giving and taking is done in line with His Word that says He won’t leave us nor forsake us; He won’t allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to overcome; He continually supplies all our needs according to His riches and glory; and He will always work all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.
This brings us back around to being called according to the purposes of our Loving Father…and this is where my response is still and always will be, “Here am I, Lord. Send me. I’ve spent too much time waiting for You to change my circumstances instead of living as if You already have. The moment I asked You for help, You immediately responded to my prayers. I may not see the fruit of it yet, but I know You are working on my behalf so I can do my part to push back hell, expand our tent stakes, and take new territory for the Kingdom.”
“Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. – Daniel 10:12
Now here’s the retelling of my previous story, but clothed in light of Who God really is. I have God-given artistic talent and technical understanding that allows me to freelance projects and make money on the side. I am healthy. My house has new pipes. My dog is alive, healthy, happy, and healing from surgery. The car troubles have been repaired. I saw through the lies and scams before they seriously affected all they were intended to. I have a roof over my head. My bills are paid. I have food in the refrigerator. I have the most amazing, supportive family and friends that a person could ever dream of having, and I still have a hope and a promise and a calling to fulfill. I know that the Lord will perfect all that concerns me because I am His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works and He has prepared me–in advance–to do them. No weapon formed against me will prosper, because I am the head and not the tail. I am the daughter of the Most High King, which gives me authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt me. So yes, Lord, Here am I. Send ME…THIS girl, the one who remembers who You are and Whose I am. Here I am because I AM.
Now…Isn’t that better?! I’ve seen too many of you, my dearly beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, who are dealing with similar issues. Time is getting short, revival is coming, and the enemy is getting frustrated and he’s panicking. So you can be sure that the devil is throwing everything he can think of to get us off track. But I encourage you, you’ve come too far to give up now! Let’s lift one another up in prayer as we all seek to get our hearts right so our words will be right and our actions will be right. Let’s stop letting circumstances overwhelm our thinking and control our outcomes. Satan didn’t give us our calling, and he sure as heck can’t take it without our permission. Let’s remember who we are, where our strength comes from, and recommit to the unique callings God has for each and every one of us. Here am I, Lord. Here are we. Send us.
Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. – James 1:2-3 (AMP)
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