1 Samuel 1:26 the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favour with the Lord and with people.
Samuel’s mother Hannah had dedicated the child to the Lord, so, when he was a young child (about 3 or 4 years old) she brought him to the temple and left him with the High Priest Eli to serve in the temple. Eli was a failure as a father and a priest. His two sons Hophni and Phinehas were wicked and defiled their priesthood by practicing evil. Eli rebuked them but did not reprimand or remove them from their priestly duties to keep the sanctuary sacred, as his parental love superseded his reverential love and devotion to the Lord. But Samuel was ministering before the Lord (1 Samuel 2:18). God cared about every stage of little Samuel’s spiritual growth. Eli would have been a loving grandfather but not a Godly mentor because of his own failure. Hence, the Lord God was the personal tutor and coach for Samuel. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel! (1 Samuel 3:10). During the day, Samuel was a sincere servant but at night he was a dedicated student.
For Samuel, talking to God was not a one time incident but a habitual routine as he grew up to become the mouthpiece and prophet of God. It doesn’t matter where we grow up, or the school we were tutored or the locality we were raised in; God was and is in the details of every step of our growth.
Stages of Growth:
1. Wean: Have you noticed that God will take away a relationship, friendship or a partnership when we become very comfortable? 1 Samuel 1:24 After he(Samuel) was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was,..and brought him to the house of the Lord. God removes us from our comfort zone to step us into the “stretch zone”. We learn our valuable lessons only after we let go of the pacifier. Pacifiers are only for babies. God will wean us out of the comfort zone intermittently, not because He enjoys upsetting us but because He cares about our growth. “New level of challenges causes growth”. It is God who weans us out of our comfort zone – so, stop complaining and start growing!
2. Learn: New technology, methodology and functionalities are introduced to us every day. Those who fail to adapt and learn will fall out of the workstream. We might be highly educated and well experienced yet, we can learn something new every day. As Samuel was open to learning, God tutored him to become an honest judge and an integrous prophet, even though he grew up among wrong company and corrupt leadership. We don’t get to choose where we are born and how we are raised but we can still choose to lean on the Lord and learn what is right. God cares about our growth and will ensure that He brings instructors, trainers and mentors into our life – so, stop whining and start learning.
3. Coach: It is our sincerity to learn and glean that will qualify us to become coaches, teachers and prophets. 2 Samuel 3:17 The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. “When the student is ready the teacher appears. When the student is truly ready the teacher disappears” – Lao Tzu. God coaches, trains and teaches us to mould us into coaches, teachers and prophets – So be coached to become a coach.
God is in the details of our growth. The uncomfortable, uneasy and even edgy challenges are divine universities that help us to grow.
1 Samuel 2:21 The boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Let me never be the same as yesterday. Coach, teach and disposition me from my comfort zone and stretch me to grow. Amen
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