“Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” 1 Samuel 3:1-7 (ESV)
The other night, I came out into our living room and my husband was talking on speaker phone with someone. I heard the voice on the other end of the line, but I couldn’t for the life of me place who it was!
So I started silently mouthing, “Who are you talking to?” so not to interrupt the conversation, but Matt wasn’t catching on to what I was saying. So I made up some sign language which usually just consists of intensely pointing and flailing my arms. After being married 6 years, Matt is pretty fluent in my custom signing.
Turns out it was someone I knew, I just didn’t recognize his voice!
I wasn’t going to figure it out on my own. But, once Matt told me who it was- it clicked and now if I heard him talking again, I would probably know without having to ask…or flail.
In the same way, God has put people in our lives to help us recognize Him.
Like Samuel had Eli, we have those around us who know the sound of God’s voice who He uses to point us towards Himself as we lean into learning what His voice sounds like for ourselves.
But it takes more than just being in the presence of people who know His voice- it takes active pursuit on our part to let them in and help us.
This can be uncomfortable for a lot of us. It makes us vulnerable, because every question asked uncovers a weakness we may not want to admit we have.
It’s admitting to others there’s knowledge we lack.
It’s easy to slip into thinking that we’ve been in the Christian circle for too long to ask anyone for help in our walk with Him. We get embarrassed thinking we should know this by now. But, as we talked about last week, just merely spending time in the church building doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll learn God’s voice by osmosis.
Samuel, knowing he was hearing someone, persistently ran to the only person around him.
“And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he rose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the young man. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” 1 Samuel 3:8-9 (ESV)
Eli perceived that Samuel was hearing from God because he himself knew what it was like to hear God’s voice.
If you stop to think about the people you know, does anyone stand out as someone you know hears God’s voice in their life?
Sometimes I fall into being such a private person with my alone time with God that I shy away from inviting anyone in close enough to learn from.
Thankfully, God knows my heart. And He knows my hindrances.
I’m eager to grow in my walk with Him, and mature in my understanding- but sometimes I need a good push to actually reach out to another person He’s placed in my life to learn from.
About a year ago, I felt God tugging on my heart to connect with a precious woman in my church.
Timing seemed bad- I had just had JJ a few months before, and I didn’t want to inconvenience her with an adorable, yet unpredictable ticking bomb in her house.
My greatest hindrance is worrying I’ll inconvenience someone.
But, God was relentless at pulling on my heart. It felt like every time I’d pray and ask Him to help me grow closer to Him, help me understand what I’m reading- he’d bring this woman back up in my heart.
So, nervous and excited, I gave her a call and asked how she’d feel about meeting together regularly.
Being the woman of God she is, she took time and prayed about it, and then felt God was leading her to meet with me!
It took us a little bit to figure out our schedules, but God made it work perfectly that we could meet while Ace was at preschool, and JJ would nap in her living room for most of the time.
We had no plan, no predetermined direction for our conversations- but this time became some of the most fruitful hours I looked forward to in my week.
Now an energetic one-year-old, JJ plays and snacks for the hour and a half we get to spend together while we talk about the book of the bible we’re reading through or what God’s shown us in our personal time the past week.
She has been the Eli in my life for the past year.
I am so thankful for God’s push into my hindrance, and her willingness to take time with me over the past year.
Do you have an Eli in your life who can help point out God’s speaking to you?
Are you taking advantage of the spiritually mature people He’s purposefully placed around you?
Don’t just admire from afar, wishing one day you could know God the way they do.
Reach out!
We can learn from those around us who have the time spent on their knees hearing God in their own lives.
From one of His children to another,
Christi