In 1 Samuel, we meet a woman, Hannah, who is deeply distressed that she can’t have children. And so she tells God that if He gives her a child, then she will dedicate him to the Lord’s service for all his life. Shortly after, miracle baby, Samuel, is born and, as a young boy, Hannah brings him to the temple to live there and serve under Eli, the priest.
In chapter 3, we get to see Samuel’s first interaction with God:
“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)
Samuel lived the definition of “growing up in the church”. He lived in the temple. His daily duty was to care for God’s temple and Eli, the priest. Honestly, I would have thought he’d have learned God’s voice through osmosis.
But he didn’t.
This passage makes it very clear that simply being in God’s building, having grown up in the church, and around other people who hear His voice, does not mean we’ll automatically know God’s voice for ourselves when He is speaking to us.
But, look carefully at what verse 7 says: Samuel did not yet know the Lord for himself.
He was around those who did 24/7. But, being surrounded by people who hear God’s direction in their lives and knowing God for ourselves are two different things.
Knowing Him for ourselves involves us taking time to seek Him, but it also involves God revealing Himself to us. It’s not enough to just go to church and do all the “right Christian” things. We can’t know God’s voice unless He reveals Himself to us.
Samuel was around the people he needed to be around. He had the resources he could call on. He was in the right place- but God still needed to open his eyes. To reveal Himself to Him.
I want to encourage you who are genuinely striving to know and hear God’s voice in your own lives to intentionally take time this week and ask God to reveal Himself to you.
Maybe you’re looking for direction about a specific issue happening in your life right now.
Or maybe you feel the deep lack of God’s voice in your day-to-day.
Wherever you find yourself in your walk right now, this challenge is for you.
This post is shorter than usual- too short for my standards. But, as I prayed over this week, God stirred in my heart that what I’m sharing this week is short on purpose.
I tend to lean into the “work hard for what you want” mindset- which isn’t bad. However, in the case of wanting to hear the very voice of God, I can never work hard enough or do enough of the right things to force my own ears and heart to hear God speak.
It’s important we don’t get so caught up in trying to strive hard enough, or put the work into hearing His voice so much so that it becomes an area where we start feeling that we can make it happen on our own. As if we need to prove ourselves to deserve to hear our Savior’s leading.
Samuel wasn’t even looking to hear God. He didn’t put the time in to “deserve” to hear and know God’s voice.
God simply revealed Himself to him. He chose to do what only He can do.
And life for Samuel was never the same.
Doing our part to pursue and seek after our Lord is necessary and fruitful, but let us not forget that the only way we can hear His voice is if He reveals Himself to us.
From one of His children to another,
Christi