Intentional FaithCalled by Name, Sent with Purpose
On Second Thought
There is something deeply personal in the way God works, yet something equally universal in how He loves. When I reflect on the call of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, I am struck not only by the tenderness of God’s voice, but by the intentionality behind it. “The Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.” The Hebrew phrase hineni—“Here am I”—is more than a response; it is a posture of availability. Samuel did not yet fully understand the voice he was hearing, but he was already positioning himself to respond. That alone is instructive. God’s favor is not merely about being chosen—it is about being awakened.
We often wrestle with a subtle question: “Does God care more for someone else than He does for me?” Scripture answers that question with clarity and balance. God does not show partiality in the way we understand it. His love is not divided, nor is it diminished by the number of those who receive it. What He gives is full, complete, and personal. The psalmist writes, “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me” (Psalm 139:1). The Hebrew word yadaʿ speaks of intimate, experiential knowledge. God does not love us in general terms; He knows us specifically. His favor is not generic—it is precise.
Yet here is where the tension begins to form. If God’s care is so attentive, so personal, it is easy to assume that we are meant to remain in that place of receiving. But Scripture consistently moves us beyond that. Psalm 90:12 offers a corrective perspective: “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The phrase “number our days” carries the Hebrew sense of careful reckoning—an awareness that time is both limited and purposeful. God’s favor is not given so that we may linger in comfort, but so that we may move in calling.
This is where Samuel’s story intersects with our own. God did not call Samuel simply to reassure him; He called him to speak, to serve, and to step into a role that would shape the future of Israel. In the same way, God’s attention toward us is not passive—it is preparatory. He forms us so that we may function. He blesses us so that we may become a blessing. As the apostle Paul reminds us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10). The Greek word poiēma—“workmanship”—suggests something intentionally crafted, like a piece of art designed with purpose.
This brings us into the heart of our current focus: becoming who God wants us to be, especially in love. Love, as described in Galatians 5 and 1 Corinthians 13, is not a feeling we stumble into; it is a life we grow into. It is cultivated through obedience, shaped through surrender, and expressed through action. Easter stands as the ultimate declaration of this truth. The resurrection is not simply proof that Christ lives—it is evidence that God’s love moves, acts, and accomplishes. Love does not remain in theory; it manifests in sacrifice and service.
There is a quiet but powerful shift that occurs when we begin to see God’s favor not as a destination, but as a commissioning. When I realize that my life is known, numbered, and called, I begin to see each day differently. My interactions are no longer random. My opportunities are no longer incidental. There are works prepared for me—specific, intentional, and necessary. And here is the humbling reality: no one else can fulfill them in the way I have been designed to do so.
Yet this calling is not burdensome when it is rooted in grace. God does not send us out empty; He sends us out equipped. The same love that calls us also sustains us. The same grace that forgives us also empowers us. This is why we can move forward with confidence, not because of our strength, but because of His faithfulness.
On Second Thought, there is a paradox here that reshapes how we understand God’s favor. We often assume that if God truly favors us, He would make our lives easier, clearer, and more comfortable. But what if His favor is actually seen most clearly in the responsibility He entrusts to us? What if being known by God is not about being sheltered from difficulty, but about being prepared for purpose? The very things we might question—our limitations, our assignments, our daily responsibilities—may in fact be the evidence of His trust in us.
Consider this: God calls us by name, yet He sends us into situations where we must depend on Him. He numbers our days, yet He fills those days with tasks that stretch us. He knows our weaknesses, yet He still chooses to work through us. This is not contradiction; it is divine design. The favor of God does not remove us from the field—it places us in it with intention.
So the question is not whether God’s favor rests upon your life. It does. The deeper question is whether you are willing to move beyond receiving that favor into expressing it. Will you allow His love to flow through you, even when it costs you something? Will you step into the works prepared for you, even when they feel beyond your ability? When we begin to answer “yes” to those questions, we discover that God’s favor was never meant to stop with us—it was always meant to move through us.
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Greg Johnson
