Spiritual Solutions

When Samuel when he was very young and was in training with the priest Eli, the scriptures tell us that Samuel was asleep and he heard a voice calling him, “Samuel, Samuel!” He rose up and said, “Here I am, Lord.” He went to his teacher, his priest Eli, and said, “You called me?” Eli said, “No, I didn’t call you. Go lie down, go to sleep.”

So Samuel went back and lay down again. The voice came again, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel got up again and went to Eli, saying, “Here I am. You called me.” Eli said, “No, I didn’t call you. Go and lie down.”

So Samuel went back and lay down again, and the voice came again, “Samuel!” He jumped up again and went to Eli. This time Eli perceived that the Lord was calling Samuel, the voice of God was speaking to him. So he said, “I want you to go back and lie down, and if that call comes again, just say this: ‘Your servant hears. Speak, Lord.”

So Samuel went back, lay down, and the voice came again, “Samuel, Samuel!” He said, “Your servant hears, Lord. Speak.” And God showed him a vision of what his future was to be at that time.

When the prophet Isaiah was young, he had a vision and he heard a voice saying “Whom shall we send? Who will go for us?” And a voice within Isaiah prompted him and he said, “Here I am, send me!”

In other words, “Count me in, God, count me in!”

Count me in, God!

This is the call of enthusiasm. Remember that the word enthusiasm comes from the Greek words “En Theos,” which mean “In God.”

During this past week’s financial debacle, I was reminded to look in my wallet and draw out a bill of whatever denomination to refresh my memory of the one of the great tenets of our Constitution of the United States. It says, “In God we Trust.”

Today, let’s personalize that and say, “In God I Trust.” Not just trusting a God out there somewhere, but put a comma after God, and say “In God, I Trust!” That makes all the difference, for “In God we live, and move, and have our being.”

If you open your heart to trust in God your life will change completely. We can say, “God, I trust you to shed your light on my path and to show me the way for my life.” “God, I trust your presence within me to give me the right answers that I seek.” “I trust your presence within my loved ones, that they know the way also, and I don’t have to tell them the way.” “I don’t have to be in control. I can trust your guidance; I can trust your presence.”

You see, for each one of us, God is calling us just as God called Samuel and God called Isaiah. God is calling us too.

And God is calling us into life, into a life of abundance, into a life of wholeness, calling every one of us into that new life. It’s a radical newness when we really listen to that voice and respond to it in that way, and say, “Count me in, God! Count me in.”

Don’t discount yourself; count yourself in, because you are worthy! You are worthy! You are important! You are loved! You are needed! You are needed by God. You are needed in our world. You are needed to stand up and be counted. Count me in, God!

When you count yourself in you’ll see how great and capable you really are, because the truth of your being will begin to express itself - enthusiastically. That gift of enthusiasm will well up within you. It was Napoleon Hill who said, “Enthusiasm is the steam that drives the engine.”

More recently, Neale Donald Walsch said, “Enthusiasm means everything. Not just a little. Everything! If you are involved in some kind of project right now, or launching any personal endeavor, your enthusiasm (or lack of it) will directly determine how successful this undertaking will be. If you are not excited at the core of your being by it, drop it right now. If you are excited at the core of your being, demonstrate that in everything you think and say and do.”

How do we hear that call?

St. Benedict in the Sixth Century, in Italy, writing his Rule for the Spiritual Life, said this: “Listen, my child, with the ear of your heart. Hearken to my words and you will find life for yourself.” He issued that invitation to those gathering in community around him, not only to those people who were dedicated to God, but to those who were dedicated to human kindness; that human kindness which was able to keep the fire of civilization alive during what were called the Dark Ages of Western history. “Listen to your heart!”

And the call is not a call to perfection; it is an invitation to intimacy in the present moment. It is a call to relationship, a relationship with the Divine, a relationship with God’s presence within you. That’s what the call is about.

It’s a call not especially for something to do, but someone to be. To be counted, to be truly yourself and not be afraid to stand up and to be whom you truly are. We’re invited to discover our true nature.

In the gospel of John, in the first chapter, it talks about the calling of the disciples. Some of the disciples were gathered around John; they were John the Baptist’s disciples. They were watching Jesus come by and John said something about Jesus being the Lamb of God.

Then two of John’s disciples began to follow Jesus down the road. He looked around and he saw them following him and said, “What is it that you see?” And they stammered out to him, “Where are you staying?” He responded simply, “Come and see.”

What a tremendous response! It was an invitation to follow the Way in relationship with the divine within yourself and the divine within others. Come and see!

We are called into relationship all the time, aren’t we? Nothing happens without relationships, and sometimes they can be very frustrating to us, sometimes annoying. But life is all about relationships. And if we can really feel that enthusiasm, the infilling of God within ourselves and bring that into our relationships then things can really change.

A young man came across an old man in the park who was sitting on a bench crying. He said to him, “What’s the matter? You look so sad.” He said, “Oh, I have a beautiful 27-year-old wife at home.”

The young man said, “I’m confused. You have a beautiful 27-year-old wife at home and you’re crying? Why?” He said, “I can’t remember where I live.”

Really, that old man’s problem is our problem – we don’t remember where we live. We don’t remember that we live and move and have our being in God. We forget about that, we forget where we live. And right there in that dwelling place within us is a beautiful presence that can give us all things we can ever desire.

When we begin to trust in God, in that presence, and bring that presence into our relationships we come as an example and we can say silently to those around us, as Jesus said, “Come and see!” When we begin to trust in God and our lives begin to change then people look at us and wonder, “What has happened? You’re not the same kind of person you were.”

We don’t proselytize, we don’t go around saying you need to do this or do that. We’re just there, and they may ask, “What is it? How is it that you’ve changed?”

And in a sense, just by your example, you say “Come and see!” And what do they see?

It depends upon what you see in your world. What do you see when you look at life? What do you see when you look at certain situations? Do you see them as hopeless or do you see them as opportunities to help someone? What kind of words do you speak? People remember not so much the words that you speak but the feelings that you speak them with. It’s the feelings people remember; how do you speak your words? Do you speak them lovingly? Do you speak them with care and with consideration and compassion? Or do you speak words of judgment and criticism? What kind of words do you speak, and how do you speak? Do you look with the eyes of love?

If we are to be truly trusting in God in relationships, we’ll be looking with eyes of love because we’ll be looking toward the Christ within the person, we’ll be looking toward the presence of God within that person. We begin to look for what is right instead of for what is wrong.

So catch someone doing something right instead of doing something wrong, and praise them, show appreciation for them; share with them words of love and praise and encouragement. Be that example, let them come and see without you even saying the words but just by demonstrating the Truth of your oneness with God; be in integrity with it within yourself.

Love is a tremendous power to revitalize our relationships. It has the power to renew the life of people who come into the space of our being, just by our presence, by our first trusting in God and living from that trust. Because trust brings enthusiasm and the enthusiasm becomes contagious and begins to touch other people’s lives without you making an effort; it’s just a natural progression.

Jesus said, “Whosoever would be great among you must be a servant.” That means to serve, to give it away.

That’s how we serve God – by giving, not by trying to get what we can but by giving what we are. John F. Kennedy said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” In the same vein, ask not what God can do for you but what you can do for God, how you can express God.

Whatever forms your service takes; it may be something big, it may be something small every day. It doesn’t matter. When you are in touch with the Spirit within you, you will serve naturally; you will want to. Remember that when you give generously of yourself, you also receive abundantly.

It is said that the greatest vitamin for friendship is B1 – to be a friend, to your family, to your spouse, to your friends, to your church, to God. Be a friend. You are needed. You are loved, you are needed, you are important. Count yourself in – and when you do, the blessings will pour in.

Remember, God is blessing you, right now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-five years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

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