He is the Lord

The Lord recently opened my eyes to a phenomenal segment of Scripture (found in 1 Samuel 3).

Samuel, whose mother dedicated him to the Lord not long after birth, grew up in and around the temple, continually growing in favor with the Lord. It was quite some time, however, before the Lord called Samuel to be a prophet. In fact, the Bible says, "Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him" (v. 7). Imagine, growing up among the priests and not even knowing the Lord! So anyway... (I'm getting side-tracked.)

When the Lord finally called Samuel, the very first mission he was given was to approach the priest and tell him that he and his whole family would soon die because they were not honorable in the Lord's eyes. The first thing that amazed me was the fact that Samuel was courageous enough to follow through with the Lord's request. The second thing, which absolutely blew me away, was Eli's response to Samuel: "HE IS THE LORD; LET HIM DO WHAT IS GOOD IN HIS EYES."

If we were faced with imminent death, either our own or someone close to us, our first response would likely be to plead with the Lord for mercy and healing. We want nothing short of a miracle. But Eli's response is quite the contrary: "He is God. So let it be."

What if we had the kind of faith that said, "He is the Lord: let him do what is good and his eyes." What if we had the kind of faith that allowed us to look beyond ourselves, beyond our time here, and to trust wholeheartedly in the Lord's sovereinty no matter what it meant for us and our loved ones? If only we could see this earth through His eternal lenses. What lives of genuine faith we might live....