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As servants of Jesus Christ, we are often very focused on what we have to be doing and what we should be doing for Jesus. We often live lives questioning whether our actions please God. We try and live out the message of Jesus in our lives: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10). While this is not wrong, the story of the OT Prophet Samuel reminds us that what we must do, above all, is to “Listen to Jesus”. The first time God called the priest apprentice Samuel, he “did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” Yet Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:10).
When God calls us, the first thing we must do is to listen, not act. Without listening to Him, we will not know where He wants us to be or what He wants us to do. Remembering that God’s wisdom is what we should follow will guide us in service the way He wants us to serve. Listening to God should be our utmost priority, and keeping our hearts willing and ready to listen should be our desired goal. Indeed, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Lk 11:28).
However, we must also remember that listening alone is not enough. God has called us to listen to His word and obey His word so that we may become good and true servants of Him. We have been instructed by James, the brother of Jesus, to “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (Jas 1:22)
The Lord hears our voice and our cries (Psa 18:6) and it is only right that we stay attentive to His calls and instructions in return. Have you been listening to Him or merely serving through actions alone? Deuteronomy 13:4 reminds us that “It is the Lord your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him.” Service to God comes in two parts – listening and then obeying. Without listening, we will not be able to obey Him because we will not know what He is calling us to do. So, as good and true servants of the Lord most high, let us listen and obey as we walk daily with Jesus.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
