The Hole in the
Night
By Jeannine Sawall
So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down and, if he calls you, say,
‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”
1 Samuel 3:6b (NIV)
God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, he calls us gently in the night to talk. If we heard the Lord’s voice calling to us tonight, what would we do? Would we think it was the Lord’s voice calling to us personally, or would we think it was that beef burrito we ate for supper?!
I have a friend who had to ask himself that question. He found himself waking up routinely in the middle of the night. Instead of grumbling about lost sleep, or tossing and turning, he thought it must be the Lord waking him and decided to make use of this time to share his heart through email to fill what he calls “the hole in the night.” Soon, the thoughts and musings he shared with friends and family grew from a dozen email addresses to over 200. He blesses us with truths and thoughts to ponder, challenging us to live a deeper, freer, less “religious” faith. He inspires us to be about the work of Jesus, not just quoting Jesus. He encourages us to be about God’s work on the “waiting room” side of eternity.
What has endeared this “old geezer,” as he fondly calls himself, to so many is his honesty about his relationship with the Lord. He readily admits that some things are a mystery. He prompts us to hear the Lord’s quiet voice in the midst of this loud world because the more we listen, the more we’ll hear Him speak. He dares us to seek the Lord in the midst of every circumstance. And he shows us that the Lord works in mysterious ways…who’d have thought an 87-year-old widower would have an email following of over 200 and growing, just because he couldn’t sleep through the night? How many of us might have just popped an Excedrin P.M. and called it a night?! When God gives us an opportunity to do His work, it will lead to a crisis of faith and action. We might question if it really is God; however, when God sees us listening with an attitude of obedience toward opportunity, He blesses that work because it brings glory to His name. I encourage you to listen for His voice calling to you in your day…or night...today.
GOING DEEPER:
1. In the midst of the loud world, what are you doing to be able to hear the Lord’s quiet voice calling to you?
2. How might you be missing an opportunity to bring glory to the Lord in your day or night?
FURTHER READING:
Psalm 46:10; John 16:13
Jeannine is a wife and mother of four great
boys. She works in the property management business. Jeannine serves in several behind-the-scenes
ministries at Oakwood and has a heart for those who are grieving.
