Last week I pulled the pin and dropped a grenade into my comfortable life… In the aftermath many are confused and I am staggering about… not in a daze, but in apprehension. It seems I have a limited time to decide what is next, and in this angst, I am constantly seeking out God’s word for my life.

This morning I found myself reading and meditating on 1 Samuel 3. Samuel’s initial response to God’s voice was to think that Eli was calling him, not realizing it was God who was speaking, Samuel went in and woke Eli up 3 times… before he finally was advised by Eli to say to the Lord, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

I have always had a deep affinity with Samuel, who plays a pivotal role in the transition from Israel being ruled by prophetic Judges to the appointment of a King, and the beginning of the end of the Kingdom of Israel. In such a time of upheaval, the people of Israel show brash arrogance and envy. Wanting to be like the kingdoms that surround them, they give up their submission to a loving and protective God to put their trust in a man, a king. And throughout this turbulent time, Samuel stays his course as a messenger of God… speaking truth while the Israelite’s turn their backs on God best!

And as I sit amid this great upheaval in America, I say the same thing to God, “Speak, for your servant hears.”