Thursday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 3:8-10
8 So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.
10 And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
8 So the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.
10 And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
Commentary:
3:10 Samuel! Samuel! The Lord called other people twice by name at a crucial point in their lives; e.g., Abraham (Gen. 22:11), Jacob (Gen. 46:2), and Moses (Ex. 3:4).
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 496–497.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 496–497.
Questions:
Samuel did not understand what was happening on his own. After the Lord called him three times, Eli realized that God was the one calling Samuel and gave him instructions about how to respond. God used Eli, despite Eli's own failures, to help Samuel recognize what was happening.
Brandon used this moment to emphasize that Christians are not designed to discern God's will in isolation. God gives us His Word and His Spirit, but He also gives us the wisdom and experience of other believers who can help us see what we may not see ourselves. God's confirmation often comes through repeated and varied means, and we should be careful about dramatic decisions based on a single inner voice.
The wisdom of godly people can serve as confirmation, but it should never replace Scripture or become an excuse to surrender personal responsibility for discernment. This means healthy Christian community requires both humility to receive counsel and courage to speak truth when someone we love has a blind spot. It also means we must become people who can be corrected without immediately becoming defensive. God often uses His people to help us hear what we might otherwise miss.
Brandon used this moment to emphasize that Christians are not designed to discern God's will in isolation. God gives us His Word and His Spirit, but He also gives us the wisdom and experience of other believers who can help us see what we may not see ourselves. God's confirmation often comes through repeated and varied means, and we should be careful about dramatic decisions based on a single inner voice.
The wisdom of godly people can serve as confirmation, but it should never replace Scripture or become an excuse to surrender personal responsibility for discernment. This means healthy Christian community requires both humility to receive counsel and courage to speak truth when someone we love has a blind spot. It also means we must become people who can be corrected without immediately becoming defensive. God often uses His people to help us hear what we might otherwise miss.
- Who are the people whose opinions carry the most weight in your life when you're making difficult decisions? Are those the same people who have permission to challenge you spiritually, or are you primarily surrounded by people who reinforce what you already think?
- Why do you think God chose to form His people in community rather than designing Christianity around isolated individuals who simply read the Bible and make their own decisions? What does that reveal about the purpose of the church and our need for one another?
- Where has independence become a spiritual problem for you? Are you avoiding accountability, resisting correction, or keeping people at a distance because you don't want anyone to have the authority to challenge you?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess any pride, defensiveness, or independence that makes it difficult for you to receive correction or seek wise counsel.
- Thank God for the people He has placed in your life who encourage you, challenge you, pray for you, and help you grow in Christ.
- Ask God to provide mature believers who can speak truth into your life and give you the humility to listen when they do.
- Praise God for building His people into a spiritual family where we do not have to follow Jesus alone.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
5. Why do I follow Jesus? I follow Jesus because Jesus rose from the dead proving that He is the way, the truth and the life.
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
(Matthew 7:24-27; John 14:6)
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