Now What? (1 Samuel 3:1-10)

How well are we hearing from God? 

Every day is full of choices. Does God guide our every step or does God leave it up to us? And if God is nudging us down one path instead of another, how are we to know? How do we hear the voice of God?

In 1 Samuel, when God reaches out to him, he hears it. He’s open and available, but he doesn’t recognize God’s voice until the more experienced Eli tells him it’s probably God. God wants to be known. The God of the universe came to Samuel four times with the same patient invitation. God wants to speak to us, too.

Eli didn’t want to hear from God, he didn’t want to deal with his choices, and he didn’t want to change. And in the end, he lost the ability to hear from God at all. Samuel's posture was so powerfully different: “Speak, your servant is listening.” It’s an open-handed, trusting, unconditional posture.

The more we learn about God, the easier it is for us to recognize God’s presence and voice on the pages of our lives.