May 18 – 1 Samuel 1, 1 Samuel 2:1-26 John 10:22-42 Psalm 63:1-11

1 sam 2:12

Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD. 

Worthless men who didn’t know God. It’s bad enough for Eli to have sons like this, but these guys were priests! They were responsible for service to God, but they didn’t know Him.

It’s a sad state when so called men of God do not know Him. When this happens people get led astray – the truth faith gets left behind.

And it happens too often – people who chose ministry as a career but have no faith in God… nothing good ever comes from that.

If you are in ministry for the wrong reasons you do a disservice to those who lead. Your ministry is about bringing people closer to God, you cannot do that if you yourself are not close to Him.

John 10:27-28

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 

When we follow Jesus, we know His voice. We hear His voice over the other voices in the world. When we belong to Him, nobody can take that away from us. No man, no force of hell can take you from Him. You can refuse Him, you can turn away from Him, that’s your choice – but nobody else can take you away from Him.

No matter what the world throws at you – they cannot take away what you have in Christ. Don’t let them think you can.

Ps 63:10

God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Have you ever been thirsty? Not just a little, but as in a dry and weary land where there is no water? I remember a time I was working in the Judean Wilderness helping to set up a prayer concert. As we were working during the day, the sun was so strong and dry, it felt like every bit of moisture in my body was evaporating.

There was water on tap and I drank so much of it… then sweated most of it right back out.

When I was thirsty, water consumed my every thought. I cannot imagine how that must have felt if no water was available.

That’s how much the Psalmist longs for God. That’s earnestly seeking God. Where He consumes our every thought and desire. Is that how you long for God?

On a day to day basis I don’t think about water all that much, because it’s readily available and most of the time the weather in England isn’t that hot.

What is your desire for God like? Is it like a grey day in England where water is readily available, so not as much of a priority? Or is it as in a cry and weary land where there is no water?

It’s the second one that is earnest seeking of Him.