Don’t Miss the Encounters God Wants You to Have

Today’s Scripture reading is from the book of Samuel. We have Hannah, wife of Elkanah, who is barren and has been for years while Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah, has many children and kind of lords it over poor Hannah. Every year the family travels to Shiloah to make a pilgrimage and offer sacrifices to the Lord. This particular year, Hannah is particularly distraught, so she rises after a meal and presents herself before the Lord in the temple. Eli, the priest of the Temple, was sitting on a chair near the doorpost of the temple–no doubt observing all that was going on around him.

In her bitterness, Hannah prays to the Lord, wiping many tears. She makes a vow–promising, “O Lord of hosts, if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid; if you remember me and do not forget me; if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the Lord as long as he lives; neither wine nor liquor shall he drink; and no razor shall ever touch his head.”

Hannah remained before the Lord a l-o-n-g time in prayer.

During this time, Eli is watching Hannah. He sees her mouth move but hears no words. He thought she was drunk and rebuked her, telling her to “Sober up!”

Hannah explains that she isn’t a drunkard, but only an unhappy woman pouring out her troubles to the Lord and that her prayer was prompted from deep sorrow and misery.

Eli tells her to “Go in peace. May the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”

Clearly, Hannah’s distress, humility, honesty, and sincerity touched Eli’s heart and he hadn’t even known what she’d prayed for!

But Hannah believed Eli’s words because the next verse says, “She went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband and no longer appeared downcast.”

The next morning, the family worshiped before the Lord and went home.

And the rest is history.

Hannah conceived a child–a MALE child–whom she called Samuel since “she had asked the Lord for him.” And she followed through with her promise to give the child back to the Lord for as long as he lives.

No doubt Hannah had prayed many times during her barren years for a child. What made this prayer different?

No doubt MANY people came to the Temple to pray. What made the priest Eli notice Hannah this day? Had God pointed her out?

Who does God point out to us in our day?

What made Eli make that promise to her? Was it God speaking through him?

What made Hannah believe it? Was it because she saw something of God in Eli?

What makes us notice others? What makes us act on the nudge the Holy Spirit gives us?

Last week, I was schedule to conduct a safety training presentation for a county in my neck of the woods. Before leaving home, a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that sits on my bedroom dresser caught my eye. I traced the sign of the cross over the heart of Jesus and prayed that He’d open my eyes, ears and heart to His presence in my day… that I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to serve him this day.

An hour later, standing in front of the fifty or so employees I was presenting to, my eyes were drawn to one man in particular sitting on the end of the middle row of three long lengths of tables. His name was Grant. And I had this strong feeling/thought that I should give him a copy of my book, Everyday Encounters with the Lord.

Just as quickly as the thought floated across my mind, I dismissed it. I mean–how awkward and uncomfortable would THAT be? I hardly know the man! And I’m training for a public entity! He’s a public employee! There’s the whole “separation of church and state” thing to consider . . .

So I ignored the nudge, went about with the 3-hour long training presentation, packed up and went home for the evening.

Early the next morning found me back in the same building, setting up the same presentation for another group of employees for the same county. In walks Grant. Surprised to see him, I joked, “Hi! Back again for a repeat?”

He gave a half smile and said, “No, I just wanted to stop in and tell you that you did a great job at the training yesterday. I really enjoyed it.”

As I thanked him, his eyes filled with tears and he took a deep breath, and continued, “And to tell you that when you asked the group yesterday what the most important thing in our lives was, I said, ‘family'”. He stopped and wiped the tears that were starting to flow out of his eyes down to his cheek before continuing, “I wanted to say that GOD was the most important thing in my life, but I didn’t. But God IS the most important thing in my life, and I feel like I let Him down when I didn’t voice that. Because it would have been awkward and uncomfortable“.

(More tears streaming from his eyes).

“I felt like I denied the Lord and I promised him I wouldn’t do that anymore. I asked his forgiveness last night but felt I needed to come in today to tell you that GOD is the most important thing in my life.”

Here’s this man–a guy in his 50’s–who drove several miles out of his way to come and tell me this, all the while wiping tears away for not having done what he felt God wanted him to.

Imagine how I felt in this moment–knowing I’d not done what God had so clearly wanted ME to do either!

I reached out, gave him a warm hug and said, “Come with me. I’ve got something I need to give you,” and led him out to my vehicle and handed him a copy of my book.

“You’re not going to believe this,” I told him, “but I felt like God wanted me to give you this book yesterday and guess what? I didn’t because it would have been awkward and uncomfortable. I know EXACTLY how you feel. Thanks so much for coming back in today and telling me what you did. I hope you enjoy the book.”

I love that our Lord is a God of second chances! He works in the most beautiful ways in spite of our hesitation to follow through on those little nudges He gives us. I am SO glad our Lord led Grant to come back and talk to me because it was a second chance for me to give him the book God so clearly wanted him to have!

Going back to Eli and Hannah . . .

What made Eli give that promise to Hannah? Was it God speaking through him?

What made Hannah believe it? Was it because she saw something of God in Eli?

What makes us notice others?

What made me notice Grant among FIFTY other people as being the one I should give a book to?

It’s the Lord.

Just like Eli didn’t know why Hannah was praying so intently, I don’t know why God wanted me to give Grant the book. Eli only noticed Hannah–and acted on what God led him to do and say.

It’s not up to us to question the nudge . . . to know all the details of why and what God is calling our attention to; it’s only up to us to respond–to be obedient to His prompting.

And . . . that’s enough . . .

And, perhaps later, as in the case of Hannah, we will know–like Eli eventually came to know–the reason and the purpose behind that encounter. Hannah’s desperate prayer–the one Eli asked the God of Israel to grant–turns out to be a child (Samuel) that Hannah later gives to Eli to train and raise. Samuel becomes a pivotal figure in Israel’s history–a great prophet, priest and the final Judge of Israel. He winds up appointing the first two kings of Israel: Saul and David.

But no one knows this yet.

Eli and Hannah’s encounter is such a seemingly everyday encounter on an ordinary day, yet it is far from that.

And those thoughts/nudges/urges from the Lord in our ordinary days are important too. God wants to make something happen in the world through us.

Are we watching? Are we listening? Are we acting on those nudges?

Lord, open the eyes and ears of our hearts to watch and listen closely to the random thoughts/nudges that strike us in the common, ordinary moments of our lives and give us the courage and wisdom to act on them, so we don’t miss–or interfere–with Your plans for the salvation of our world.