ZACK MARTIN – MY CALLING FROM GOD!

 

1 Samuel 1:8 - Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?".

1 Samuel 1 : 11 - Then she made a vow and said, "O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."

 

In this text of Scripture we see Hannah making a promise to God if He would give a male child! Long story short, Samuel was born to Hannah and Elkanah, and Hannah was true to her word giving Samuel to the Lord! I have a similar story in my own life!

 

My Birth - In 1951 there wasn't all the modern marvels that exists today. When the time of my birth came, there was only a town doctor, Dr. Bush, available for my parents to have assist in my birth. I was a breach birth, which meant that I was turned wrong, and I had to be turned in order to be safely born. The doctor worked many hours trying to do this so that I might have a chance to be born alive. Not only was my life at risk, but also my mother's life. As the day passed the situation drew more dire. Finally in the eve of a new day, he got me turned enough that I could be born. He cautioned my parents that he didn't know if I would live or die. So on March 3rd, 1951, I was born just before midnight.

 

After my birth, I was so bruised that when my oldest sister saw me, she burst into tears. Even after I was born, the doctor had doubts that I would live. Here is an important part of my story! I didn't learn of this until after I accepted God's call to me to become a minister for Him. My mother prayed to God for my life and promised Him that if He would allow me to live, that she would give me to Him. Like I said, I didn't know about this until after I accepted His call to be His minister at the age of 20. My mother knew that she had given me to the Lord when I was born.

 

So she raised me in this light, and she made sure that I knew so many things that would make me good in whatever work that God should choose for me. As a family, we always had our evening family devotion time every night before we went to bed. She would take time to explain things to me about what we may have discussed during our devotion time. We were just a poor farming family and had my mother and dad, four children, and my grandmother living in a two bedroom house. Well, that meant we had to double up. Since I was the baby (youngest) of the family, my bed was in the same room as my mother and dad's room. We shared that bedroom, so many nights mother would lie down on my bed with me, and we would discuss the Bible and stories from the Bible. At that time I didn't know why we discussed the Bible and stories from it, but she was preparing me for a life of service for Christ. When most children would have bedtime stories read to them, I would have Bible stories read to me.

 

Then when I was twenty years old, I felt the Lord speaking to me and felt that He wanted me to do something for Him.  I didn't know what He was wanting so I talked with my pastor and he felt that God might be calling into the ministry, so we prayed about it together at first and then I prayed about it during my own time in prayer. And I felt the calling of God on my life to be a servant of for Him. So I committed my life to God to use in what ever way that He desired for my life. 

 

Remember I didn't know that mother had promised me to God if He would let me live when I was born and the doctor didn't think that I would live. So it was after the call by God for me to be a minister for Him that she told me the story of my birth and her promise to God if He would let me live. And that's the story of my calling in the ministry. I have tried to be the best servant for the Lord that I could be!

 

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In His Name,
Rev. Zack martin Sr.