1 Samuel 1 What is your Samuel?
Sounds like bad English I know, not who, but what?
I had a friend who was head of a very successful international ministry and was on boards of other prominent organisations. He was mature in the things of God and a real blessing to the body of Christ in many nations. His counsel was widely sought after, including by other Christian leaders. However, there came a time in his life when things began to get very difficult for him and he was afflicted by deep depression. He actually started to leave meetings immediately after his messages so that he wouldn’t have to speak to people. He received prayer from other leaders he knew and trusted but nothing changed. Then a good friend told him ‘God wants something from you and He won’t relent until He gets it’!
In 1 Samuel 1:3 & 7 we read that Hannah’s trial of barrenness went on, ‘year after year’, it was a prolonged period of misery. Eventually it led to her vow;
V10,11 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord. And SHE MADE A VOW, saying, “O Lord Almighty(He certainly is), if you will only look upon your servant’s misery …. and give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor(mark of the Nazirite)will ever be used on his head”.
God wanted something from Hannah, a childless woman, her first born son. Once she made her vow to give God His portion, then He blessed her.
V22 Hannah said to her husband, “I will take him and present him to the Lord and he will be there always”. (In the Dead Sea scrolls and Masoretic text it says, I have dedicated him as a Nazirite — all the days of his life). Samuel was completely set apart for the Lord from before his birth.
Is the Lord asking something of you today, something for himself first before He will bless you? What is ‘your’ Samuel? God wants His portion first, He knows if He can’t bring us to that place that we’ll probably back away.
My friend had written letters of resignation from several ministries because he couldn’t go any further. He was going to mail them the next day and God spoke to him and things turned around. He’d been a very well organised individual, very efficient, but God had to break something in him, so that his ministry was more dependent on the Lord.
The Nazirite is set apart for the Lord, his whole life is to serve Him. He is like a tool in the hands of God, nothing for self.
Has God been asking you to surrender something? Jacob wrestled the angel all night(dark time) but IN THE MORNING he had a new name with God.
I urge you to make to make your surrender today, He wants you for Himself.
Blessings to you today.