Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
God has preserved fascinating stories for us to leave us with enduring lessons. Fathers in particular need to take heed. It has been my observation that Eli's paralysis of leadership is not uncommon...even among those in ministry. As a father whose vocation is service to the Lord, I have made it my intentional mission to avoid the failure of Eli. I urge you to do the same.
You can't always tell from Scripture whether God's voice is audible or "heard" by some other means. When Saul (later Paul) was on the road to Damascus, he heard the voice of the resurrected Jesus talking to him in a vision, and the sound could be heard by his entourage. It was audible.
The setting is Israel before the glory days of King David. There has been a long period—a couple hundred years—of intermittent warfare, cycles of events during which Israel would suffer invasion followed by famine; then a judge would emerge and win a temporary peace.
Sadly, in an alarming number of churches today, God's people are being told what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear. They are being fed warm milk, not solid meat. A watered-down gospel may attract large crowds (for a while), but it has no eternal impact.
All those going through a storm need to be engaged in the process. No one is promised a magical escape clause. Passivity is faith's enemy. It isn't an acceptable option to fold our arms and wait for the storm to pass.
Your personal nourishment is crucial during times of storm. In panic moments, you'll cut a corner on your meals. You'll also fail to get sufficient sleep. It won't be long before you will set aside prayer altogether and you'll find yourself drained, spiritually. Increased emotional pain mixed with decreased spiritual renewal can be lethal to your faith.
The spiritual application is obvious. Our tendency in dire straits is to cut and run. It's easier at the moment to walk out of a troubled marriage than to face it and work toward restoration. Human nature wants to retreat to a place where each one of us can be all alone, lock the door, and pull the blinds. Alienated, we sink further into depression. Tragically some turn to alcohol, drugs, or worse, to a revolver.
Those are treacherous moments when we reach the point of abandoning hope. At that difficult, gut-wrenching moment, God says, "Don't be afraid, I have a plan."
You may never be summoned to stand before kings and queens or be invited to address the political elite or high-ranking military officers; but you will have your own opportunities to stand and deliver.
That may have been the crowning moment of Paul's entire life. Chains on his wrist rattled as the prisoner raised his arms to deliver that closing line. What an epochal moment! His words brought proud Agrippa so close to the throne of grace he nearly bowed before the King of kings!
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