But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” They said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.“

1 Samuel 8:19-20

Have you ever noticed a desire from within for something someone else has?

The Israelites wanted a King, not because they needed a king, but because everyone else had a king. There were two things they didn’t realize within this desire, however:

1) They were rejecting God as their king.

2) There were consequences to having a king.

What we don’t realize when we want something that someone else has is when God created us, each of us individually, he gave us everything we needed and the ability to do what he called us to do. He created us different for a purpose. When we begin to desire what others have, how they look, what they do, when we desire anything outside of all the gifts he’s given us, we are no longer trusting his goodness and wisdom in how he created us. And with every decision We make to be like someone or have something God didn’t design or mean for us to have, there will be consequences. Every decision, good or bad, has consequences, good and bad. So when we are doing something against God’s design, there are going to be consequences that we feel against God’s desire.

The Israelites didn’t trust God to provide for their needs and fight their battles, so they wanted another king, an earthly king to do these things for them. What they didn’t realize or believe was that with an earthly king they would have suppression, their children would have to fight battles for the king, their daughters would be taken in to work for the king. He’d take the peoples fields and land, he’d charge taxes, he’d take the best of all they had.

When God chose Israel, he chose them as his kingdom, his special people, set apart to be different than everyone else so that His Name would be Renowned.

God had already fought battles for the Israelites. He removed them from Pharaoh’s hand in Egypt. He brought them through the wilderness for 40 years, he brought them into the promised land, he gave them freedom and all the things they could have ever wanted, and they STILL wanted to be like everyone else.

We all fight this desire, to have what others have, to be like the cool kids, to change who we are called to be so that we fit in with everyone else. But God, He created YOU to be a Reflection of Him.

When we begin to manipulate who we are, we are no longer reflecting God but reflecting whatever else it is we are idolizing. With every decision we make to change who we are comes the consequences of that decision. We are no longer free to live as the person we were created to be, we are now suppressed by the chains of what or who we are trying to be.

We were made free in Christ, so there is a Cost to be anything besides who we were made to be.

I know the desire to have what I don’t have, the desire to be who I am not, the desire to fit in where I just don’t fit. It’s been a struggle all my life. But I also know God made me different and the different he made me is freeing. When I try to change who I am I feel worn out and begin to hate who I am becoming. But when I stay true to who God made me, I feel fully free to run the race he gave specifically to me.

Be who God made you to be. It is the most Beautiful, Useable, Reflection of Him.

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. A third time the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.”

1 Samuel 3:7-8

We may not hear from God because we don’t know its him calling.

Samuel had lived with Eli, the priest, since he was a little boy. He was an assistant to him in all the tasks that needed to be completed in the tabernacle. Samuel knew how to get the oil for the lamps, how to start the fire for the offerings, where to set Eli’s robes, etc., but the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Samuel had a routine in the tabernacle, but not a relationship with God.

So, when God began calling to Samuel, Samuel kept going to Eli. He could hear the call, but didn’t recognize the caller. All Samuel knew was Eli, so Eli had to lead Samuel to God.

It’s quite possible that God is calling you, but you just don’t recognize His Voice.

The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and then he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

1 Samuel 3:21

Once Samuel built his own relationship with God and not through Eli, Samuel began to hear God himself through the word of God.

God is speaking all the time, but most of the time, like Samuel, we can’t hear him because a) we don’t have a personal relationship with Him, b) we aren’t seeking Him, or c) we don’t know how to hear Him.

Our relationship with God can’t come through someone else or a string of actions we are taught to do. Just looking at Samuel, who was brought up in the tabernacle, under the guidance of Eli, he did as he was told. Samuel was faithful to Eli, but he did not know God. So, when God spoke, he didn’t recognize his voice. It’s possible for us to have the same problem.

Maybe you grew up in a strong Christian home, and you were taught all the right things to do; you went to Church, Bible Study, Sunday School, Vacation Bible Study, Church Camp, you sang in the kids choir, you volunteered to serve, and you thought, because I’m doing all the right things I’m a Christian. Or maybe you grew up in a home of where your parents said they were Christians, but the actions weren’t there, however, you thought because my parents are Christians than so am I. To hear the call that God for us, however, we have to have our own relationship with Christ.

My parents were believers, we went to church when I was a child, I LOVED Vacation Bible School and the Christmas Cantata, but it took me at a young age, climbing under the built in desk in my room praying to God, it took me going out onto my swing singing to Him, it took me grabbing my Bible in my bed at night reading His Word. Out of the early hurts in my life, I sought Him, and that’s how I heard from God and grew a relationship with Him.

To Seek God, truly, we have to take action. The action I’m talking about isn’t completing a checklist of to-do’s, but actually taking action in our own way out of the many ways he gives us. We can pray, we can read the word, we can sit in silence with Him, we can fast, we can sing, we can worship him while cleaning. Because, you see, He is always there, it is us who are far off. We need to go after Him, and we will find Him. Then when we find Him, we will hear Him call.

In the seeking, we will hear Him, because even the rocks call out His Glory.

Samuel heard God audibly and then continually through His word. He heard it out loud a couple of times, but most often by reading the Word that God gave him. God gave us His Word, as well, and He continually speaks to us through it. If we go to the Word and ask Him to open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds, to hear what He has to say, we will hear Him Speak.

Everyday, as I write, I write what God speaks to me, that for one, I need to hear, but also, maybe you too. Before I read my Bible in the morning, I get down on my knees and pray, and I end every prayer with God, please speak into me and allow me to be a light to others. Then once I read and see how he is speaking, how he catches my heart, I write, and then he confirms what I heard throughout the day.

So can you hear God’s call for you today? You can Hear Him by Knowing Him by Seeking Him through His Word.

In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servants misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

1 Samuel 1:10-11

In life we will all have ‘if only’ moments.

I am sure at some point or another the hurt you’ve experienced has caused you to think, if only God would __________(fill in the blank).

If only God would heal my son, if only God would give me a child, if only God would change my circumstances, if only God would provide for my family, if only God would take this disease away, if only God would take me out of this situation, if only God would bring me a husband, if only God would change my husband’s heart, if only God would turn my child to him, if only God would make her clean, if only…

Hannah prayed this prayer after years of being barren and being made fun of and being harassed by the other woman. But Hannah, in her hurt and anguish took her prayer before the Lord with her ‘if only’ an added ‘then’. She made a vow to God that would bring healing to her heart, but hard in the healing. She wanted this child so much that she was willing to give him back to the Lord to be raised in the temple away from her if she could just hold him in her womb and in her arms for a short time.

‘If only… Then’, fulfilled by God, becomes a vow you must fulfill yourself.

Some of us keep our ‘if only‘s’ as that alone; maybe we think it, maybe we scream it, and maybe we pray it. But some of us, like Hannah, take it to the next level and make our ‘if only’ an ‘if only, then’.

I know I did. I remember the words like it was yesterday. Sitting in my downstairs bathroom on my knees, getting ready to take a pregnancy test the third month after my miscarriage, and I said, “God, if only you would let me be pregnant, then I will do whatever you ask of me the rest of my life.” My ‘if only’ had a ‘then’, and if my if only was I fulfilled so was my then.

Seven months later, twin Girls were laid in my arms and 14 years later I’m still saying yes to every call from God. Some of my ‘then’s’ have been the hardest times I’ve had to walk through. Some, I believe, have been tests to see if I was really willing to say yes to everything. And then some have been the most rewarding (even though difficult) periods of my life.

But you know, if my “if only” had not been fulfilled I would have turned my ‘If only’ into an ‘even if’. Even if God chose not to give me another child I would have still worshiped him. And I know this to be true because even when God chose not to heal my youngest son this side of heaven, I still raised my arms, my heart, and my prayers and worshipped Him.

We all will have “if only” moments, some of us will even have “if only, then”, but in all of these “even if” God doesn’t fulfill our “if only”, let us all worship Him.

But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day.

Judges 20:22

Encouragement can bring courage to keep fighting the battle.

In the midst of the battle that was prayed over and wisdom sought, the Israelites were still losing. They were losing people and losing ground. But they continued to go back to the Lord and ask for guidance in the battle, and He continued to spur them on in the call. Due to their faith and trust in the Lord, they went back into the battle, but this time they also Encouraged one another. The encouragement from their sisters and brothers, from their friends and leaders brought courage to their soul and a fresh breath to their thoughts. They came up with a plan, and with the help of God won the war.

Recently, there was a call put before me with many thoughts added to mine. Some were just questions, some were opinions, some were demands, but mostly, they were discouraging.

Have you ever felt like God called you to do something but others opinions aka thoughts discouraged you from following through on the call? They made you more afraid than the fears you already felt?

Yet, in all these thoughts a couple were encouraging. One call, in particular, hit just the right spot, and gave me the courage I needed to move forward. Over the phone, my husband said to me, “This is right up your alley. You were made for this.” And those words of encouragement stay with me and help me to continue to fulfill the call God has on my life.

Many people will try to discourage you for one reason or another. Some may do it out of selfishness, some may do it out of concern for you, but if it’s God call on you, rely on the the encouragement of the few.

Encouraging words, few but mighty, will fill you with courage to fulfill your God given call.

Remember, Aaron and Hur held up Moses arms when he grew tired. Joshua and Caleb were the only 2 of the 12 that encouraged the Israelites to go into the Promised Land. The disciples and apostles while being beaten and imprisoned, encouraged other Christians to continue on in the spread of the Gospel.

Therefore, encourage each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

1 Thessalonians 5:11-15

When we encourage each other, instead of discouraging each other, we can see the work of God magnified.

It is words of encouragement that have catapulted me into seeing the Amazing Work of God fulfilled.

Who can you encourage today that will enable God’s work to move forward into His Promise?

With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazarite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head was shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would because as weak as any other man.”

Judges 16:16-17

Don’t sell your soul because your tired in the battle.

Samson was dedicated to God from the time he was conceived. As he grew on this earth, God filled him with strength to protect and be judge of the Israelites. However, he had a downfall, as we all do, and his happened to be women. Every woman he loved tried to cause harm to him because of their people who were against the Israelites. Delilah, the last of the women, kept trying to find the source of his power. She nagged and nagged, annoying him so much that he couldn’t handle it any longer, and he ended up giving up his God-given gift because he couldn’t fight anymore.

It would be so much easier if each battle we fought was short lived, so in our own strength, we could persevere. Yet, I believe, God intentionally allows the battle to be long so we don’t depend on ourselves but on Him.

God desires for us to lean into Him when we feel like giving up and He will STRENGTHEN us.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what in is to have plenty . I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:12-13

Nothing, not wealth, not someone’s love, not death, Nothing is worth more to me than my relationship with Christ. And I would rather endure every battle, whatever cross I have to bear, than give it up for anything.

I’ve personally been in many long-suffering battles. In some of them I’ve lost almost everything, but in losing “things” I have gained so much more in Christ. Jesus gave me strength in every battle to persevere enabling me to see an even more beautiful abundant life beyond the battle ground.

I don’t know what battle you are in, but don’t give up. Lean into Jesus, Look to Jesus, and allow Him to fill you with strength.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Romans 5:3-5

At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?” Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband – how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.”

Ruth 2:10-11

Do you ever feel like no one sees you? Like truly sees you? Like you are living your life, trying to do what God wants you to do, but no one notices?

Been there, done that, wrote the book.

I don’t know about you, but truly, I’m OK with not being seen. It’s not until someone else takes the credit or worse yet, someone tries to tell me I am one way and in actuality — I’m so different. In these moments, I’m not mad, I’m hurt deeply. All because I not only feel unseen but also unknown. That’s when God sends a reminder to me that he sees me and knows my heart.

Like Ruth being told by Boaz that he’s heard all about what she’s done for Naomi, many times, my husbands that one. He’s that one who reminds me I don’t need to worry about what others think, but what God knows.

This is a hard one friends because here on earth we are judged by others perceptions of us and we face those judgments day in and day out. But maybe, just maybe, that is the cross we are to bear like Jesus bore a cross for us. Once we die on the cross to what others think, we live in the judgment of what only God knows. And you know what? God loves, loved, and will love us forever. So much so, that he gave his one and only son to die on the cross for our sins, Our true sins, not what people think they know. And he sits on the throne in heaven showing us grace and mercy and abundant love.

You are seen. Seen for who you truly are. In the eyes of God you are his child and he loves you so.

But Ruth replied, “don’t urged me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where are you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

Ruth 1:16

Faithfulness happens when the grass looks greener in the other field, but you choose to stay where you were already fed.

Life has its ups and downs and sometimes the lows can see more numerous than the highs. And when everything seems to be low you may begin looking in other directions than the direction you’re going. Often times, however, when the direction you’re going feels hard, the direction you’re going is the area in which you’re growing.

Ruth was faithful. A fairly young married woman, becomes a widow after 10 years. Her father-in-law and brother-in-law have both passed away, and her sister-in-law has headed home. But Ruth, she saw her mother-in-law, Naomi, with no relatives: no children, no husband, no grandkids, and she was moved by her new faith to stay. She could’ve gone back home, found a new husband, been with her family and friends as she mourned, but Ruth knew that Naomi needed her more and she would be faithful.

The grass may have seemed greener in another direction, but the long unknown road is the direction Ruth decided to go. Ruth’s road wasn’t harmful to her, it was just hard for her, and there was an easier way it seemed. But her faithfulness in the Hard would eventually be a blessing to her and many other generations to come.

We all have these opportunities in front of us to be faithful in the hard times, to walk the long road and not turn away. Years of hard can make us stronger in the end and prepare us for the future God has in store. There may be generations to come that need us to be faithful in the Hard today, so they can be faithful in the hard tomorrow.

Jesus was faithful as he walked into the garden to pray. He knew he’d be met by those who would take him captive and eventually kill him. He asked God to take this cup from him if he willed, but if not, His will be done.

Jesus carried his cross all the way to Golgotha, he could have freed himself, but instead he was faithful to death and his death is what brought us life.

Where does your road seem hard? What are you wanting to turn from because you can’t do this any longer? Is God calling you to be faithful in this area? Is he trying to grow you for a grander plan?

Pray. Fast. Stay Faithful. Grow.

The Lord said to Gidian, “you have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel could boast against me,” ‘my own strength has save me.’”

Judges 7:2

It wasn’t me, it was God.

If everything always went your way and you always had way more than you needed, then you would never have a reason to depend on God.

As humans, Mere mortals, we have a tendency to claim the fame. We like to take the glory when some thing went well, but all things actually happen only in the way God directed them. And yet, there are many times when God calls us to do something specific, like Gideon, and he ends up taking the ease out of calling because he wants us to rely on him alone.

God doesn’t do these things because he wants us to suffer. He makes the steps look more difficult so we can’t claim the glory, but instead his name will be glorified and he will become known. He’s already worked all things out and if he’s called us he will equip us, but we may not be equipped how we expected. He will give us just enough to win the battle because he is more than enough and won the war.

In the same way he fought the battle with Gideon, he provided his son for the biggest battle of our lives. We can’t save ourself from sin and death, but Jesus can and did. We can’t take back our life from the grips of sins bondage, but faith and trust in our Savior Jesus can. We can try all we want to have an abundant life, but there is only one way… Get out of our own way, lay down our selfish desires and follow him.

And all I do, I do for you.

My Savior Jesus, you never leave us.

It wasn’t me, how could it be.

Because I saw the battle and my strength was weak,

I asked for more, but you didn’t speak.

You knew the outcome and provided some.

But their army was plentiful,

And I wanted to run.

‘For the Lord and for Gideon’, was the battle cry.

If I said I was fearless, I would’ve lied.

I strapped on my helmet, and grabbed my shield.

And to my heart, I wouldn’t yield,

Because I had faith, in what you had in store.

And you didn’t just win the battle, you Won the War.

When they let down their hair in Israel, they let it blow wild in the wind. The people volunteered with abandon, bless God.

Judges 5:2

When I work at anything, I work with everything in me, Not because I work for someone but for the One.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24

No matter what I commit to, if I commit, I am fully in. I gave it my all, even if it’s to death. I use every bit of strength I’ve been given because truly, I’ve been given everything from God. When I made the commitment to follow him, it wasn’t just to lay around in plush circumstances and let others do for me, it was to take up my cross and follow him by serving others as He served me with his actual LIFE.

I praise God for those that walk in the same way, that would lay their life down for another. I give thanks to God for those who willingly jump in to help because he has given to them and they want to give to others in the same way.

When Jesus lay down his life for us, he didn’t ask, what are you willing to do for me? Instead, he said, “”Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.“ Luke 23:34

He set the example of how we are to live by SERVING others, not serving ourselves.

Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you.

John 13:14-15

So as I walk through this Easter week and all weeks throughout the year and throughout my life, as God yields my heart to a need, whether it be for family, friends, work, a neighbor, a community, a stranger, whoever it may be, I will do it with all of my heart, all of my strength, and all of my mind, for Jesus alone. I will let down my hair and do whatever it is with full abandon.

Then he said to them all, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

Luke 9:23-24

How are you following Jesus to the cross?