My family’s favorite summertime meal is grilled flat iron steak, tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and basil, corn off the cob (to avoid orthodontic disasters) and fresh peaches or berries. We just discovered a dark chocolate sorbetto that tops it off perfectly, a sweet ending to a savory meal that draws everyone to the table.

I wouldn’t make this delicious dinner if no one was there to enjoy it, but that’s exactly what the prophet Samuel did. In 1 Samuel 9:15-17, the Lord told Samuel a man He had chosen as king would show up “about this time tomorrow,” just in time for a big banquet. God spoke again when a guy named Saul wandered into town the next day, telling Samuel, “Hey, that’s him! He’s the one I told you about!” Samuel had already trustingly told his cook to set aside the best part of the feast for this unnamed, unknown man who hadn’t yet shown his face. Saul was seated at the head of the table and served a sizzling slab of meat hot off the grill.

Samuel trusted and obeyed God’s direction by reserving the biggest steak for a guest who hadn’t even arrived. Samuel taught Saul to do the same when he escorted Saul out of town the next morning. He told him four distinct signs he would experience on his journey home and offered this advice in 1 Samuel 10:7 NASB:

“It shall be when these signs come to you,

do for yourself what the occasion requires,

for God is with you.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if God told us what He’s doing, when it’s going to happen, and who will be involved – then confirm it with a voice in our ear? “Here’s my plan, Amy. I’m going to set it in motion tomorrow at 3:00. The person you need to see is wearing a blue shirt, and I’ll tell you when they arrive. Ready?” Yeah, I could work with that!

Signs can be subtle, or they can come with bells and whistles.  However they come, the hard part is to “do for ourselves what the occasion requires”—or “do whatever your hand finds to do,” as other translations read.

Sometimes my head and my heart

understand God’s will,

but my hands won’t cooperate!

I stubbornly resist taking that next step, making that call, exerting that effort. I waited months for God to make women miraculously appear on my doorstep before I realized I was going to have to go invite them myself. When I did, God was with me. He held my hand through very terrifying march up their sidewalks and has been by my side at every gathering.

God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.

Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:5-7

It scares me to offer myself to you as someone worthy of imitation. You might be better off to avoid my mistakes than to follow my path! But I have done this—I have invited my neighbors into my home to share “Coffee, Conversation & Christ”—and lived to tell the tale. I’ve survived slammed doors and shy acceptance by my neighbors, and I’ve experienced the blessing that accompanies obedience. I’ve also felt the painful sting of the Lord’s discipline as I disobeyed and delayed.

Whatever your unique calling may be, you can be certain it involves loving your neighbors as yourself. Maybe you’ll start a Neighborhood Café. Maybe you’ll befriend someone at work. Maybe you’ll fix someone’s car. It’s not hard to come up with ideas. The hard part is doing for ourselves what the occasion requires.