Dropping Words

Another one of those things I never noticed before—

"The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground" (1 Samuel 3:19, NIV).

It's a little awkward grammatically but the following two verses clear up which "he" is who!

"And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. And Samuel's word came to all Israel" (3:20-4:1a, NIV).

I love that phrase, "…he let none of his words fall to the ground." This boy to whom God spoke, this youth, this man, heard the voice of God, he listened (once he got over that initial confusion of who was speaking to him) and he didn't forget or neglect one single word of what God told him.

What a beautiful example of what our attitude should be to the Word of God. We sometimes pick and choose from among the things we hear from God. We have a marketplace mentality. Samuel didn't. And because he took seriously every word that God spoke, God continued to speak to him, and through him.

And others recognized that.

It might seem like a small ambition, but I'd like to be one of those who doesn't let any of God's words "fall to the ground" in my life.

After all, who has anything more important to say than God does?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Advocate

Image
Welcome to Word-Filled Wednesday hosted by Christy at Critty Joy . Check out the pictures inspired by the Word of God. At the end of chapter 16, Job makes a statement that eludes to an advocate in heaven who intercedes for him. What did he believe? Or did he simply say what he was inspired to say without an understanding of its implications? “ Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend ” —Job 16:19-20. What a beautiful picture of the advocate we have with our Father—Jesus Christ who intercedes on our behalf as the One who paid for our release with his own blood. “ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sin of the whole world ” —1 ...
Read more

The Case of the Pilfering Peacock

Image
Such little things under ordinary circumstances: a few pots of lettuce and a little spinach. But in a country like Pakistan, and in the heart of the Sindh, anything resembling salad is as hard to find as hen’s teeth; well, in this case, peacock’s teeth. My friend, Hannah, is a retired missionary nurse. Actually she became a retreaded missionary nurse, having returned to Pakistan several times several times after retirement to fill a desperate need for nursing staff at the hospital she first went to serve in back in the 1960s.   A wall surrounds the hospital. On the grounds are the homes of the medical staff and some of the Pakistani people who work at the facility. It also seems to be the favourite place for the peacocks from the local Temple to hang out.    It had to be the lettuce and the spinach that attracted them. When she first noticed the peacocks, Hannah admired their beauty—until she noticed that they were lunching on the spinach. She tried to shoo them away. “Pe...
Read more

Priorities and Promises

Image
Google Images Material possessions and worry go together like cheese and crackers. The second half of Matthew 6 deals with both. From verses 19 to 24, the Lord warns His listeners not to focus on gaining stuff that can be stolen, or destroyed. Rather, we are to work to gain what is eternal. “ ...store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do no break in and steal ” (vs. 20). Why is that important? Verse 21 nails that down: “ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also .” Our hearts and minds need to be directed toward those things that matter most to God. To focus elsewhere is to be blind, to be “in the dark” (vss 22, 23). We are then told that a choice has to be made. We have to decide to direct our attention to the things that matter to God or to concentrate on the stuff that will eventually be destroyed. We can’t do both (vs. 24). God isn’t just one of many priorities in our lives—He is THE priority. But it i...
Read more