God speaks. He speaks everyday.
Do you hear Him?
“How does God speak?” you may ask, “I’ve never heard God’s voice.”
The answer is not as simple as just one way that God communicates with His people.
He uses His word to speak to us, as well as the Holy Spirit’s prompting inside of us during prayer, worship, and daily life, and the words of our pastors, teachers, and even parents.
God can and does use all of these ways to communicate to us, but we have to be willing to respond.
Jesus talks about hearing and responding to Him in John 10:27-28, where He says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
In our reading today we will be looking at 1 Samuel 3:1-14. Samuel had been dedicated to the Lord to live at the temple while he grew up by his mother who hadn’t been able to have children. She had promised God that if He helped her have children, she would give her firstborn to God’s service. When Samuel was old enough to be separated from his mom, she brought him to the temple to serve there with Eli, the head priest.
Eli had three very evil sons who did not honor God, so God decided to make Samuel the next high priest instead of Eli’s sons.
In this amazing passage of scripture, God calls to Samuel 3 times, and Samuel finally answers the third time after thinking it was Eli who had been calling him.
God told Samuel that He was going to punish Eli’s family forever, and that their family would no longer be the priests. It isn’t recorded that Samuel would be the next priest of Israel, but this is the first time God really takes away the blessing from Eli’s family and puts it on Samuel.
What is very important to see in this passage is how Samuel responds to God’s call. In verse 10, Samuel responds to God’s call with “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
The question is, are we listening to God with a servant’s heart today?
When we hear God’s word in church or read it on our own, are we humble enough to let it change us and to follow where God has just told us to go?
When the Holy Spirit inside of you prompts you to do or say something, are you brave enough to listen?
Or do you just let sermon after sermon, bible verse after bible verse pass you by, never changing or truly following after what God is speaking to you everyday?
It’s time for you to pray and really speak to God, and then read His word or listen to your pastor’s sermon and let His spirit speak to you through it.
God will show you what you need to change in your life.
When He shows you, respond in humbleness, asking for His help to accomplish the changes in your life, and then go out and live for God!
Trust me, I am nowhere near perfect and I don’t listen to God enough either, but this is truly something we all must work on if we want to grow to be more Christ-like.
So today, let God speak to you, and then go out and do something about it!
Johnathan
Let’s talk in the comments below:
- How is God speaking to you today?
- Tell about a time when you felt led to do something by God, and took a step of faith and listened.
To answer the statement “Tell about a time when you felt led to do something by God, and took a step of faith and listened.” In 1997, I was the co-owner of Gamecock City Printing, Inc. in Sumter, SC, a very successful business me and a friend of mine started in 1994. At that time I had been struggling with a call to go into full-time vocational ministry for several years. It had reached its climax at that point. I remember talking to my wife about ignoring God’s call on my life. Our young marriage was struggling at this time. Through seeking advice, it appeared that my disobedience was affecting my marriage and other areas of my life. I had talked about selling my half of the company to my partner and enrolling into Bible college. Many people tried to talk me out of it. However, I made the commitment to take that step of faith and pursue the ministry. Through being obedient to God’s calling, my marriage healed as well as other areas of my life. I have now served 18 years as a youth pastor in the local church. I really see no signs of stopping anytime soon. It is so much more rewarding to step into the unknown than to continue down the path of the known with doubt and discontent.
That’s such an encouraging story. It truly takes a leap of faith sometimes, but it is so satisfying to follow God’s plan instead of our own. God knows what’s best for us. Thanks so much for sharing, Scott.