My Confession:

When I was in my second year of college and very new at this whole faith thing, I went to a women’s conference for the single purpose of hearing God speak. I heard that kind of thing happened at these types of conferences.

During the prayer time I even asked someone to pray that I’d hear the voice of God. This seemed logical to me. I’d been going to church for, like, 5 months and still hadn’t heard God speak for crying out loud. I think I just wanted the proof that He is real.

Clearly my smaller-than-mustard-seed faith wasn’t moving mountains.

I had grown up Catholic and was baptized and had a first communion. I went through all the religious motions in my childhood, but God was never real to me. And I never heard God speak at that conference.

 Once upon a time a young beauty named Melissa set out on an adventure. She moved from Georgia to California in search of new horizons (like this one here).

Once upon a time a young beauty named Melissa set out on an adventure. She moved from Georgia to California in search of new horizons (like this one here).

When the Word of the Lord is Rare

And that brings us to 1 Samuel 3. Hannah had dedicated Samuel, she made him his little robe every year and brought it to him when she made the dangerous trip from Ramah to Shiloh, and now many years have passed. My Bible notes say that Samuel is probably 12.

1 Samuel 3:1 In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.

I keep reading those words and I can feel Samuel’s loneliness. Samuel, who grew up away from his mom. Samuel, who was dedicated to God at a time when God wasn’t speaking. I’m sad for Samuel, and I’m sad for myself. I’ve felt that loneliness, and Friends I know you have, too. We’ve both waited for the news or the healing or the opportunity to come and God answered with silence.

And maybe you resonate with me and my story. You’ve grown up in the pews, but God still does not seem real.

 When she made it to California, she fell in love with the beach and with my brother.

When she made it to California, she fell in love with the beach and with my brother.

And then.

And then God spoke. One night, God called to Samuel over and over. Samuel couldn’t figure out who was calling him, and he kept asking Eli the priest what he wanted but Eli told him to go back to bed.

And the Bible explains the reason for Samuel’s confusion:

1 Samuel 3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: the Word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

HOLD. THE. PHONE. How could Samuel have grown up in church but not have known God? I didn’t get it. But then I realized that this was my story, too. It may be your story. He was dedicated to God from before he was born. He lived in a temple in God’s presence for crying out loud. But Samuel didn’t know the Lord because the word of the Lord hadn’t been revealed to him.

Turns out Samuel and you and I aren’t all that different. This is one of the beautiful details that we miss if we aren’t paying attention. It’s beautiful because we see that we are so much the same.

How many of us sit in the pews every Sunday and God just doesn’t seem real? Maybe He doesn’t seem personal? How many of us (still) haven’t heard from God?

Friends, maybe this is you today. Maybe you’re gone through the motions for a really long time and now your kids are going through the motions, too. Maybe you’re checking a lot of boxes on your religion to-do list. God wants more for you.

How Samuel heard from God:

  1. Samuel was quiet. Verse 3 says that Samuel was lying down in the temple, but he wasn’t sleeping. He also wasn’t yammering away about how he’s angry with God for His silence. He’s not scrolling through Facebook and checking on what everyone else is up to. He’s not looking for inspiration among the uninspired. It just says that he’s lying there. May we be still and block out the noise long enough to hear God.

  2. Samuel answered with swift obedience. As soon as Samuel heard his voice, he got up to figure out what was going on. He didn’t know it was God; he thought it was Eli the priest. He didn’t keep Eli waiting. Samuel spent his life serving at the temple even though God was silent. He didn’t stop listening and responding even though God hadn’t called before. He still expected God to speak and was obedient when He called.
  3. Samuel knew who he was. In verse 10 it says,

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

“Your servant.” Samuel knows his identity. He knew he was there to serve God and not the other way around. Samuel had the honor of being in the presence of God, but he responds to God with beautiful humility. He knows he isn’t doing God any favors. He’s there to serve God; God’s not there to serve him. Samuel recognizes that God owes him nothing, not even an explanation for His silence.

 But what she really wanted was to be my sister.

But what she really wanted was to be my sister.

4. Samuel had Eli. He lived in constant community with his mentor, Eli the priest. Now Eli wasn’t perfect, but Samuel was able to learn from both the obedience and disobedience of someone who’s experienced the road Samuel was going down.

Do you have someone who has gone before you? Find someone who, when you look at their life, very obviously answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” You can find the servants by looking at how they spend their time, talent, and treasures. They are never running on empty because they are filled with the Spirit. They don’t make decisions based on fear, but the freedom of knowing that life is short and beautiful and they were created to serve.

And here’s a freebie from my life:

5. Be obedient to what you already know. The pastor preached on this a few months ago. He said that we are far more educated about the Bible that we are obedient to it.

I’m guessing the reason I never heard from God at the women’s conference so many years ago is because I wasn’t obedient to what I already knew from the Bible. Sure I loved God, or more accurately, I really liked the idea of loving God, but I wanted to live my life how I wanted to live my life. My decisions were based on fear (of being along, of not having enough, of not being good enough, of wasting this one wild life) or what I wanted in the moment and I rarely considered what God’s best for me was.

At that time I never considered that I was His servant, commanded to be loved and to love. Friends, may you know who you are and Whose you are. May we obey the commands to be loved and to love. You are still His creation, even on your worst days. You were still created to humbly serve, even on your best.

Here’s the craziest thing of all: God wants to be with you more than you will ever want to be with Him. Start listening, because He’s always communicating. Start talking, because He’s always listening.

 ... so she married my brother and became my sister and everyone lived happily ever after, amen.

… so she married my brother and became my sister and everyone lived happily ever after, amen.