Gospel Reflections #885: God listens

1 Samuel 3:3,4 "The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel. And Samuel answered, 'Here I am.'"

God declared He would shut out the sons of Eli the priest and cut off the line of his priesthood, but He also said He would raise up for Himself a faithful priest.

That was Samuel.

Because Samuel faithfully served Eli the priest, when he was called, he thought Eli had called him and went to Eli.

Eli told him he hadn't called and told Samuel to go back to sleep. But this happened repeatedly, so Eli became convinced it was God speaking. He instructed Samuel that the next time he was called, he should say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

God does not leave our critical situations unattended.

God seeks those who are faithful to Him.

We often think, "I am not faithful to God, so He won't speak to me," but God's perspective is entirely different from ours.

And God speaks to each and every one of us.

We usually go through life unaware of it, but God desires us to notice His voice and respond.

Jesus' way is narrow.

The gate that leads to destruction is wide, and the road is broad. And many enter through it.

The gate that leads to life is narrow, and the road is narrow. And few find it, as the Bible records.

Even if we lack Samuel's level of faithfulness, we should confess to God our desire to be faithful to Him and entrust ourselves to Him.

At the start of this year's journey, let us reflect anew on where we are headed and what we are looking forward to as we move into 2026.

God surely receives the thoughts within our hearts.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.