A Year of the Lord of Hosts-11

Psalm 46:7 “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.”

            This year will be the year of the Lord of hosts. When we the say that the Lord of hosts is with us, we mean that we are not alone. We have an army of God right beside us. We the children of God will never be afraid of anything that comes against us. We have the Lord of hosts to battle it out for us this year. The Lord of hosts is giving us the divine strength to conquer all the issues in our lives. We read in I Samuel 4:4 ‘So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth betweenthe cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, werethere with the ark of the covenant of God.’ We see the Lord of hosts dwells among the cherubim and he will guard us by his immense glory. Today let us mediate upon the attributes of the Lord God.

He speaks with us

Exodus 25:22 “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which areupon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”

            Over here we see the Lord God speaks amidst of the Cherubims. We can understand that the Lord of hosts is able to talk to his children from wherever possible and also he is always prepared to say certain things to his children.

He speaks to them that listens to him

I Samuel 3:4 “That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.”

            Here in the above passage we see the Lord calls Samuel like a mother that calls her children. We must understand that God did not talk to the Eli the priest there but he speaks to Samuel. The Lord decided to speak to Samuel as he was ready to listen to him. We see the Lord revealed all his prophetic words to Samuel that night. We read in I Samuel 3:7 ‘Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.’ Samuel was young and he did not have a strong spiritual connection with the Lord at that point of time. But the reason why Lord chose to talk to Samuel is that he was willing to listen to the word of God, In I Samuel 3:5 ‘And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.’ This verse clearly reveals how excited and active Samuel were when he heard the voice of God. This pleased the Lord almighty and he went on to use Samuel. We read in I Samuel 12:18 ‘So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.’ This verse shows the spiritual growth of Samuel as to how God used him and transformed him as a prayer warrior. Even in our lives, the key is to listen to the word of God. When we do so, all the other things will follow.

He speaks to them that surrenders themselves

I Samuel 3:11 “And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.”

            The above passage we see the prophetic words of the Lord God to Samuel. We see the Lord spoke all these things only to Samuel and not to anyone else. Though there were a lot of wise men, the Lord chose Samuel. In I Samuel 3:13 ‘For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.’ Our Lord chose Samuel because he knew Samuel had a true submission. This is the main reason why God spoke to Samuel.

We read in I Samuel 2:27,29 ‘And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?’  There was a situation where the Lord was not able convey many key things to Eli. Since Eli placed his family first and failed to prioritize the Lord God, Samuel was chosen. But Samuel respected Eli and learnt many things from him. This enabled him to surrender everything for the glory of the Lord of hosts. This act of submission pleased the Lord and it made him reveal many prophetic things to Samuel. Same way, when we surrender ourselves to the presence of God and when we prioritize our heavenly father, we will be blessed.

He speaks to them that carry the burden of Christ

I Samuel 3:15 “And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.”

            We see the major incident took place when Samuel was twelve years old. When certain things are revealed to Samuel he did not have a proud heart. Samuel carried the burden and felt more responsible for his calling. He kept doing his spiritual duties that was expected of him. Since Samuel stayed humble before the Lord God, he was lifted higher and higher as we read in I Samuel 3:20 ‘And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.’ Even in our lives, the Lord of hosts will take us to the next level in our lives. But we need to be very cautious on four key aspects. One, We should never turn a blind eye to the sins that are present in our family. Two, We need to reverence the family prayer and should believe that our prayers will be answered. Thirdly, We need to motivate our children to listen to the voice of the Lord. Finally, We need to nurse up our children in faith and confirm the same. Therefore, when we make it a point to do what is expected of us, we will be blessed and lifted up to the next level. Amen.