“And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered and said, Speak; for thy servant heareth.”
1 Samuel 3:10 [KJV]
A family member and I once had one of those “animated conversations”. We were both passionate about our perspectives on the subject. Any moment she paused for breath (or I thought she looked like pausing), I jumped in with my thoughts. The conversation went back and forth for some time.
Eventually, she rolled her eyes. “You’re not listening to what I’m saying! You’re too busy deciding what you’re going to say next!”
Ouch. But we are often ‘next’ focused. Sometimes it’s a conversation where we stop listening because we are thinking about what to say next. Single people can become fixated on a hypothetical marriage. Mothers sometimes say they are ‘just surviving’ until their children are older. Women can be focused on a future where circumstances will be different, and they will finally serve God in the way they’ve dreamt of doing. Maybe life isn’t as satisfying as you imagined, and you can’t wait to move on to more exciting things. It’s funny. We like to think we are grownups, but we’re just like little children on a car trip, asking God over and over, “Are we there yet?”
Rather than focusing solely on the ‘next’, the Bible says we should listen for God’s voice and do His will in the here and now. When Christ was baptised in the Jordan River, God spoke, saying, “This is my beloved Son: hear Him” (Mark 9:7b), and Jesus later said that, “He that is of God heareth God's words” (John 8:47a). That means listening now.
I was also struck recently by how many times the Bible records God spoke to or moved in the lives of people who were doing ordinary things. Moses and David were both lowly shepherds when God called them (Exodus 3; 1 Samuel 16 respectively). Ruth spent months working hard in the fields to survive before she had the promise of a brighter future (Ruth 2:23). And in the New Testament, long before both became preachers and evangelists, Stephen and Philip were cleaning and going shopping for older widows (okay, that’s what I always imagined they were doing).
Another clear example that shows both how God speaks and how we should respond is found in the life of the prophet Samuel. In 1 Samuel 3, a young Samuel is ministering in the temple as a servant of the priest Eli. Verse 10 of the chapter records, “And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered and said, Speak; for thy servant heareth.”
God miraculously spoke directly to Samuel in an Israeli temple. Our present individual circumstances are undoubtedly different to Samuel’s setting. However, 1 Samuel 3:10 has three lessons we can all learn and apply in this area of listening for God’s voice.
The first of these is accepting that God is sovereign. The word used for ‘LORD’ in verse 10, is Jehovah, meaning the eternal God who exists. He is the great “I am that I am” (Exodus 3:14), who hold all hearts, from the smallest child to the most powerful king, in His hands (Proverbs 21:1). Isaiah 14:24 says, “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:” We know the Bible says God is sovereign and all-powerful. Yet we don’t always see how this affects our day-to-day lives. Is God really sovereign over that painful event that just happened? Or the fact that it rained on washing day, right when the clothes on the line were almost dry? Or over your current situation, even if you feel your talents are underutilised and your efforts unappreciated? One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt about God’s sovereignty is that the Lord can use any circumstances to help me grow – even when I can’t see the point of a certain life stage or situation. Consider the Apostle Paul, who suffered much from physical weaknesses, trials and persecution for Christ’s sake. From a human perspective, God-fearing Paul didn’t deserve these troubles. Yet Paul recognised that God could use those situations to teach him lessons such as contentment (Philippians 4:11) and that God’s grace was sufficient for all his needs (2 Corinthians 12:9). In Romans 8:28, Paul declares, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose”. Until we recognise that God’s sovereignty gives Him both the right and ability to shape our present and future, we won’t be listening for His voice.
The second principle is that God still speaks. 1 Samuel 3:10a says, “And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel…” This reminds me that the God who spoke to Samuel speaks to us today. In Old Testament times, the Lord spoke to men through angels, visions, audible voices and even a donkey. In New Testament times, God uses three key means: His Son (Hebrews 1:2), the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), and the scriptures (Hebrews 4:12). While God can also use counsel and circumstances to direct our paths, each of the first three are independent of our situations. Christ saves us. The Holy Spirit seals us (Ephesians 1:13) and speaks to us through the Word of God. He always leads us in accordance with the recorded words of God the Father and God the Son, for the Holy Spirit "shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak..." (John 16:13). The Holy Bible is God's main means of speaking to us today, and "is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). God can use these means to speak to us anywhere and anytime, 24/7. But in our impatience to jump ahead of God’s timing, we don’t recognise this truth and consequently can miss out on what God wants to teach us. If God is speaking, then why don’t we hear anything?
This verse also tells us that we must hear. A radio station or a live stream may be emitting content all the time, but we won't hear it unless we are tuned into it. Samuel’s response helps us understand that tuning into God's voice involves a commitment to obey it: “Then Samuel answered and said, Speak; for thy servant heareth.” Samuel called himself a servant of God. In John 12:26, Jesus says, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” A servant of God is a ‘doer’. As James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Before, during and after God has specifically spoken to them, they have committed to obeying all of God’s will. Not just the exciting parts, or the self-esteem-boosting parts, but also the times when God tells us to stay in situations we would rather flee, or reminds us that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Sin (1 John 3:4), a lack of faith (James 1:6-7) and discontentment (Luke 12:15) hinder us from hearing God’s voice.
So, in summary, God is speaking and wanting to teach us many things. But are we listening? Are we so focused on the future, that we ignore God’s work in our lives in the present? May our prayer be, Lord, give us Samuel’s heart, that when you call our name, we respond with “Speak: for thy servant heareth.”
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