“Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.”

DO WE KNOW WHEN GOD IS CALLING US?

• It is not an overnight event

•  God reveals it to those chosen gradually over the years.

• BUT  talents and gifts to serve others is a major sign of God’s calling,

• God’s Calling  brings us a deep sense of fulfillment and happiness.

As one writer once wrote that: "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

Because of our human nature “it is easy to dismiss the voice of God when He speaks to us. We may even turn it away and think we are just confusing it with something else. It is so easy to pass it off as being something other than what it really is that we delay hearing what God has to say to us and we delay God’s blessings on our lives”

 

When we read In First Samuel 3:7, “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.”

What is this to our understanding?  Does it mean that Samuel did not know the Lord? Knowing the Lord is a very basic and fundamental part of serving Him. Listening to God is not always easy, but it is always rewarding. Listening means taking time to seek His will and focusing on what He has to say. We will never find peace of heart until we take the time to attune our attention on Him.

We will never know what God is trying to tell us if we do not listen. There are those out there who never listen to Him simply because they don’t want to. Let us develop this a habit of saying “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.”

Assumption one:

Suppose Samuel had not listened to God when he heard Him call his name what then?

Assumption two:

Suppose he had just rolled over and gone back to sleep. He could just as easily have chosen to ignore the calling of God, but he didn’t.

In John 10, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “My sheep know my voice, and they follow me.”

We need to be ready because “God may be calling your name today, but for whatever reason, you have not responded: continue to search God’s calling like Samuel.

For some reason, you have chosen to tune Him out”  remember what happened to Jonah;

 

We need to remember that, God does this by calling each of us by name.  It might not be an audible voice in the night as it was for Samuel, but God does call out our names to come and follow Him and make a difference in the world.  To bring hope where there is no hope.  To bring light to where there is darkness.  To build a better world

The questions which we need to ask ourselves are:

•  Do I seek to find God’s voice in the voices of those who know me and who love me?

•  Do I take any criticism or concern as an opportunity to examine my motivations and find myself strengthened rather than weakened in accepting Gods calling?

Be grateful for your life

When you  express gratitude, the first thing you should do is look back on your life and see the positive side of things. Whatever the situation you are in right now, there is probably something in your life that you can be grateful for:

You are surrounded by awesome people

You live in a developed and democratic country

You got a job

You can read and write

You have a shelter

You have food on your plate

You have been blessed to never go to the hospital

Your parents are still alive

You have never been broken

You received news from a very good friend

Someone thanked you for something nice you’ve done

You thanked someone for something nice they’ve done

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
 
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
 
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.
It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.
 
GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.
 
~ Author Unknown ~

“WHY SOMETIMES GOD PUTS US IN DARKNESS/CHALLENGES”?

• BECAUSE  WE FAIL TO OBEY HIS WAYS

                          THEREFORE

• Troubles and difficulties are a normal part of our spiritual growth

• Troubles and difficulties purify us.

• Difficulties often cause us to draw closer to God.

Matthew 10:22 tells us that; “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops”

It is true that sometimes God puts us through the experience and discipline of darkness to teach us to hear and obey Him. Philosophically as Isaiah 49: 2 says; God puts us into “the shadow of His hand until we learn to hear Him. “Whatever I tell you in the dark. . .” Therefore we need to pay attention when God puts us into darkness, and keep our mouth closed while we  are there.

• The main question here is that “are you in the dark right now in your circumstances, or in your life with God”?

If so, as Isaiah advised 

• “to remain quiet If you open your mouth in the dark, you will speak in the wrong mood we need to remember that  darkness is the time to listen”.

• During darkness time we need more to meditate and not

• Talk to other people about it;

• Don’t read books to find out the reason for the darkness;

• We Just listen and obey.

Why because If we talk to other people, we cannot hear what God is saying. When we are in the dark,  we need to listen, and God will give us a very precious message for yourself and  someone else to share back in the light.

What do we expect during our darkness time with God?

• This difficult time will give us a gift of humiliation which is the greatest of all blessings.

• We will learn how to trust; Trusting God is far greater blessing than good health.

• Through the darkness we come to know God better, and that is the greatest of all blessings”

• It is a time when we can turn to the Lord and ask, "What is the purpose?"

• He puts us in the dark so others may see the light.

• But also the darkness can help us to see how strong our faith in God can become. 

The light should not be taken very much for granted even those who are enjoying glory have been purified through darkness before they were able to see the light.example “Many missionaries who have endured incredible hardships have said they would never trade those difficult times for anything else. It was in these desperate hours their fellowship with Jesus was the sweetest”.

There are times when God allows us to bump up against a wall or encounter an impossible situation for the purpose of glorifying Himself.

TUMALIZIE JUMAPILI HII KWA UJUMBE HUU