Bible Verse: “The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.” (1 Samuel 3:21)
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1–4:22
Do you have a morning routine? Some things that you do every morning in the same order at the same time?
Routine is very good for me. It sets the tone for my whole day. When some element is missing or neglected, it’s almost tempting to write the entire day off as a failure. Not that it’s tempting to go back to bed and wait for the next sunrise, but to just treat the day as meh.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think I’m alone. Men like routine, and I think it’s the predictability of it. Predictability is reliability. Reliability is confidence. Confidence is courage to face those things that are less predictable.
What are those things that you never miss? Is there anything that might make your whole day feel off if you neglect it?
Samuel seems to have had a routine, too. Raised in the Tabernacle and given in service to God from a young age, Samuel would have been routinely and consistently exposed to the things of God.
But it seems that Samuel had a special habit of spending time with God. He was a prophet to Israel who brought God’s Word to the people. As God’s Word came to him, he took that word to the people.
But the division between 1 Samuel chapters 3 and 4 is one of those unfortunate ones that came when chapter breaks were introduced to Scripture (the original writings did not have chapters or verses; later scribes added those to help create reference points for the Bible). It separates ideas that are supposed to be connected. The connection between God’s Word coming to Samuel and Samuel’s word coming to all of Israel should not be overlooked and cannot be overplayed. Samuel’s word and his reliability were connected to the Word of God coming to him.
Men, nothing is more vital to our effectiveness in life than being connected and rooted in God’s Word. It does not come to us in the same way that it came to Samuel, but we have the fullest revelation of God in our Bibles. We must make a routine of connecting with God through the pages of His Word so that, like Samuel, we can understand who God is and what He desires of us.
Prayer: God of Heaven, thank You for telling Your story in the Bible. Thank You for revealing who You are and what You have done to redeem humanity. Please help me make a habit of spending time with You in Scriptures’ pages. Amen.
Reflection: Do you have a Bible-reading habit? Commit to spending time in Scripture each day this week, even 5 minutes, to get started.
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