Mr. Phil Sena: Here I Am
Author: David Markopoulos | Living Education
These posts summarize the forums that our Living Education-Charlotte students attend each week.
Mr. Phil Sena is an area pastor serving in the Ohio region, and in a recent forum message to the Living Education-Charlotte students, he offered important lessons from the example of Biblical characters on how to show willingness to God’s will.
An Attitude of Willingness
The Bible gives us many examples of those who showed willingness and served God. Willingness is characterized by accepting God’s will and being willing to follow His direction no matter what. This trait is expressed in the phrase: “here I am.” Spoken by many biblical figures at key points, this phrase should be our go-to response when God gets our attention.
A Personal Relationship
One way we can cultivate a willingness to say “here I am” is by developing a strong personal relationship with God. Mr. Sena gave the example of Abraham in the book of Genesis. Genesis 22:1-2 is the account of God asking Abraham to sacrifice Isaac—a very difficult test that Abraham did not want to do. But this verse shows Abraham’s response to God was purely humble and faithful, and God revealed that it was a test later on by allowing Isaac to live. Interestingly, Abraham even said “here I am” before he had even heard God’s request. Hebrews 11:17 says that Abraham offered up Isaac “by faith”—he trusted that God would work it out. Abraham was able to say “here I am” because he already had a strong personal relationship with Him, and knew that He would honor His promises.
Personal Hardship
Another way we learn to say “here I am” might be by learning lessons through personal hardship. One example of this is the story of Jacob. Jacob was a highly confident individual who tricked his father and brother. But he had been humbled after being tricked by his father-in-law, Laban. God then humbled Jacob further by taking him out of where he had been living, and back to the land of Canaan. There, he experienced the heartache of losing his son, Joseph, who he thought was dead.
In Genesis 46:2, God appeared to Jacob and told him not to fear—he would meet Joseph in Egypt, and would eventually bring them back to the land of Israel. Interestingly, Jacob’s response was identical to Abraham’s: before he had even heard God’s statement, he said “here I am.”
In his youth, Jacob had been a confident, smooth-talking individual. But a life of hardship and humbling from God had helped him get to a place where he could finally say “here I am.” This might be familiar to us sometimes—it’s easy to get satisfied or even overconfident with our ability to figure things out for ourselves. But just like Jacob, we can’t figure everything out ourselves. Sometimes God allows us to be humbled before He makes His will known—after He knows we’re reading to show willingness.
Unexpected Ways
Mr. Sena also reminded the students that God can make His will known in unexpected ways. How will we respond in those situations?
Giving the example of Moses, Mr. Sena pointed out that God did not appear to have had contact with Moses during the 40 years he lived in Midian. Moses had left his life behind and was living as a shepherd—and he may have thought that’s all there was to it. But, seemingly out of the blue, we find in Exodus 3:1-4 that something happened that would change Moses’ life once again. Happening upon the burning bush, Moses heard God’s voice call his name. Moses’ response was the same as his ancestors—before he even knew what God wanted, he responded with “here I am.” This unusual setting for God to communicate His will didn’t stop Moses from presenting a willing heart, and we shouldn’t be surprised when God shows up in unexpected ways in our lives either.
Anyone Can Be Willing
Another important point to consider is that anyone can show willingness—we shouldn’t wait around for the right time. Like the examples of Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, we should be ready to faithfully follow God even if we don’t know what He’ll require of us. God can call anyone He chooses, including young people or those without offices. Mr. Sena pointed out the example of young Samuel—before he was ever a prophet, God spoke to him in the night in 1 Samuel 3:1-14. Samuel, unsure of what he was hearing, still listened for God’s voice, telling Him: “Your servant hears.” God often calls and uses young people and children.
And in the New Testament, a miraculous healing was performed by a Christian disciple who never appeared to have ever held an office. Acts 9:3-17 tells of the story of Saul’s—later Paul—conversion. Stricken blind, God used Ananias—a humble Christian in Damascus—to heal and baptize Saul. Paul would become one of the most prolific and charismatic apostles who spread the Gospel across the known world, contributing greatly to our modern biblical canon. Ananias was never ordained and not much is known about him as a person, yet God used him in a small but important part of Paul’s story. While God made a unique exception in this case to fulfill duties reserved for the ministry, Ananias was willing to overcome his fear of Saul and to serve him by presenting himself before God as a humble servant.
How Can I Know God’s Will?
These examples and the lessons we can learn from them give us a template for how to respond when God makes His will known to us. But you may be thinking: I am just as willing and want to do the right thing, but I don’t know what God’s will is.
Sometimes, God doesn’t always make His will immediately clear—it can be difficult to tell what He’d like for us to do. And sometimes, we face choices between two things that are not inherently bad at all—both choices could be good, and the decision falls to us to make.
In general, we do know God’s will. We know He wants us to obey His word, follow the Ten Commandments, and stay focused on the Kingdom. There are fundamental things that we can know for sure, but the hang-up is often on specific things. What, you might ask, is God’s will for me?
- Look For the Open Doors
Mr. Sena advised the students to look for the open doors. What doors and opportunities are open, or opening? If there is a smooth and consistent path forward that doesn’t require us to force our own will, we can be confident that God is blessing it. Sometimes we shut those doors or try to force our own way, but the results will not turn out well. But if we aren’t hitting hard spots, we can show willingness to follow God by walking through the doors He’s opening.
- Seek Wise Counsel
It’s important to seek wisdom and counsel from those around us. Sometimes a choice isn’t necessarily between something good and something wrong—God might let us make a decision for ourselves. In those cases, it can be helpful to assess our priorities and seek advice from those who know us well. Proverbs 1:5 tells us: “A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.”
- Fleece Test
In Judges 6:36-40, Gideon was trying to understand God’s will. He laid down a fleece of wool on the ground, and asked for God’s will to be made apparent in two steps—if it was God’s will for him to lead the Israelites, in the morning there would be dew on the fleece only and not on the ground; the next day, there would be dew on the ground but not on the fleece. God followed these steps to make it very clear to Gideon what he should do. While we don’t want to tempt or goad God, it seems that God didn’t mind being tested in this way. And after this step, Gideon did obey—if we ask for a sign and are given confirmation, will we show willingness by acting on that confirmation?
Getting on Track
We might also find ourselves on the other side. Maybe we’re facing a difficult question and we may not want to follow where God is leading us, let alone are we sure of what He’s doing. In that case, we can do two things to help us get back on track:
- Ask God For Willingness
Pray to God to ask Him for a willing and humble heart to follow His will no matter what.
- Fasting
Fasting will help us draw closer to God and develop humility.
Say “Here I Am!”
Throughout our lives, we will all face situations where God tests us, calls us to follow Him, or faces us with a decision. Our attitude should be one of humility and willingness to serve and follow Him, even if we don’t yet know what He might require of us. And while it might take time, we should continually cultivate a strong personal relationship with God and be receptive to His direction, as well as His correction. When God begins moving in our lives, our response should be a wholehearted and earnest “here I am!”
David Markopoulos is a Living Education alumnus from the 2023-2025 school years. Originally hailing from Chicago, he currently works for the Living Education program.
