To Encourage You

1 Samuel 3:10 “And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant hears.’”

Do you have ears to hear?  In Proverbs 1:20-23, God counsels us with these words: “Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: ‘How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof,behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.’”  Jesus cut to the chase about the same issue with these words: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15). 

Have you ever thought about the tremendous privilege it is for the God of the universe to speak to you, personally?  Can you imagine the wonder of the young man Samuel, who in the passage above, suddenly realizes that God had a personal message for him?  He had heard the Lord’s voice three times before, but he didn’t realize it.  He thought it was the high priest Eli who had called his name.  We are told that up until this moment, although he had ministered in the temple for his entire young lifetime, “Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him” (1 Samuel 3:7). In other words, he was ignorant.  He didn’t know how to discern God’s voice.  As a result, he didn’t yet know how to listen.

Conversely, Eli, as high priest, should have been accustomed to hearing God’s voice.  However, he had often ignored it, and because of this he and his sons had drifted further and further away from God.  It’s a study in contrasts and it’s one we all should heed. 

You see, God is speaking all the time.  We are told that “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard” (Psalm 19:1-3).  God designed the creation, in all its glory, to get our attention and point us to His glory. In fact, “the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:1-3).  But, beyond that, God has spoken to us by His Word, as Psalm 19 further reveals with these words: “The law of the Lord is perfect,reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” 

You see, it is in God’s Word that He has spoken to each of us, personally.  We can be sure that just as the Lord called Samuel by name, he is calling each and every one of us.  But are we listening? Do we know enough to reply as Samuel did, “Speak, for your servant hears”?  Is our desire to listen so great that our daily prayer is “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18)?  Do we have “ears to hear” what Jesus is saying to us? 

It’s such an awesome privilege.  It’s such a wonderful truth that the God of the universe is speaking to us, that the King of kings has a message for us.  May God give us the ears to hear that message. May we heed His call to “Listen!” (Mark 4:3). If not, it is likely we have never known Him, for the God Who speaks and intends for us to listen has proclaimed, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

Are you one of the sheep of God? Are you heeding the call of the Great Shepherd?