“Honor Me and I will honor you...” I Samuel 2:30
God said this just before He called Samuel into the ministry. At the time God was discouraged by the dishonorable actions of the House of Eli in whose charge young Samuel had been placed and a curse had been levied against the House of Eli. God found favor with Samuel, however, who was dedicated to God's service by his mother while he was just a little boy. God went to him personally and called him by name.
God has always had a pretty simple formula for success. Seek Him, Honor Him, Praise Him, Love Him, and you will have all you need or want. The same is true of the opposite; go your own way, dishonor God, take all the credit, and love yourself, and you will have trouble in your life you cannot overcome.
Sometimes we feel that we must try everything else before we bring God in on it and then only as a last resort after we have totally messed it all up. I guess our sinful nature has a big problem with authority. We have to do it ourselves so we can get others to recognize our superiority. We want to be praised rather than give praise.
Before things get out of hand and even when things already are, God is standing by ready to step in and bring you out of the mess and chaos if you will only call on Him. He wants our love and praise and honor. He already knows where we are and what we need even before we ask. Here is a great illustration that really brings this point home:
They tell us the 911 emergency system is the state of the art. All you need do is dial those numbers, and you will almost instantly be connected to a dispatcher. In front of the dispatcher will be a read-out that lists your telephone number, your address, and the name by which that telephone number is listed at that address. Also listening in are the police, the fire department, and the paramedics.
Someone might not be able to
say what the problem is. Or perhaps a woman’s husband has
just suffered a heart attack, and she is so out of control that
all she can do is scream hysterically into the telephone. But
the dispatcher doesn’t need her to say anything. He knows
where the call is coming from. Help is already on the way.
—Leith Anderson
Help is already on the way
for you too if you are ready to receive it. Give the Lord all
the Honor and Praise He rightly deserves and trust Him with your
problems. He can take care of us much better than we can take
care of ourselves.
