Ministering: giving help, serving

This week as I have been studying in 1 Samuel and the Lord has been meeting me each day and teaching me so much~

Ministering- did you know it means ; giving help , serving........


I knew what it meant to minister but sometimes my thinking doesn't always match my actions. For instance, I know what it means to me when others minister to me- they serve me or speak a word into my life... but sometimes when I see myself ministering to others it is a bit warped. I don't see my role in Ministering always as it should be; meaning that my attitude doesn't match up with my actions. The Lord revealed to me this week that I sometimes have the attitude of Pride and Righteousness (not Right with God - but in the flesh, Right with myself) - This was such a revelation to me that as I went about my day- I asked the Lord to speak to me about things I've done in the name of " ministering" where I've had the wrong heart attitude. BOY was I humbled!

So as I looked deeper at the life of Samuel something stuck out to me that hadn't before.

Samuel served the Lord~ Ministered to the Lord and then the Lord spoke to him. But what strikes me as so very important is that verse 7 says, " Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him."

I use to think man how can some one serve the Lord and Yet not know Him but my thinking while it seemed right , should have been ....

While serving the Lord when will one encounter Him and the Word of the Lord be revealed.

1 Sam. 3: 1-10
Samuel finally did encounter God and God had revealed a word of the Lord to him. He was to carry this message to Eli and he wasn't to spare a word.

1 Sam. 3: 11-15
Samuel had an encounter with God and it was rare in those days. Not only did the Lord stand before him but he also gave him a prophecy to speak to Eli. In 1 Samuel 3: 15 says, " So Samuel lay down until morning. then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli."

Here, in my opinion, is where the rubber meets the road. Our faith with obedience produces fruit. Thus, Samuel had received a word and now was asked to step out in Faith to tell this prophecy to Eli and trust that the Lord would do as He said.

He does- but not so easily. Here is the other cool thing the Lord showed me.

Sometimes when people bring things to us it is anything but pleasant. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it reveals sin in our lives. Other times we sometimes have to receive an angry word and not allow it to hurt us but realize that the one speaking may really be the one hurt and having the problems. Whatever it may be - Eli's response is an example for us all of a person who willingly received a rebuke with grace and chose to trust that God was working all things for Good. It was totally evident that he trusted God and that it was necessary.

1 Samuel 3: 16-18
" Then Eli called Samuel and said, " Samuel, my son."

And he said, " Here I am."

Eli said, " What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you."

So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him.

And Eli said, " It is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him."


This conversation says so much to me as I strive to be a person who Ministers to the Lord. Who Serves the Lord!

I so want to be able to receive rebuke first from God, my lord and savior, and from man. I just think Eli possesses a character trait that says, he values honesty and integrity. He made mistakes along the way in his ministry. It was obvious because his Boys were anything but good. But it didn't devalue his devotion and love to God. He knew that God would do what was best for Him and for Israel. Thus he could receive the word from the Lord - via Samuel.


This week- I guess I was just praying all week that the Lord would continue to grow me in this way; being a person who is able to receive rebuke and discipline from HIM and others.

I am not so gracious - but I do desire to be and I do want to live a life that says I value God's discipline so much so that I am willing to receive it however it is He choses to disseminate it. Obviously when things happen our flesh sometimes rule the moment but my prayer is that I get better and better at not allowing my response to be longer than it should be and to really chose the SPIRIT rather than the FLESH response.

More on 1 Samuel later this week.......

blessings,
Melissa