Lord, Is That You?

“Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him…Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.” 1 Samuel 3:7-9.

Samuel was a boy who was under the authority of Eli, an aging priest in the temple. As Samuel was attempting to sleep he thought he was hearing Eli calling for him and went to him each time. Eli assured him that he had not called to Samuel, and realized the third time Samuel came to him that it must be the LORD calling to little Samuel. Eli encouraged Samuel to return to his resting place and listen for the LORD to call out to him again. Through Eli knowing the God and recognizing His voice, the priest was able to prepare Samuel for the revelation.

What are we doing to encourage others to both seek and recognize the word of the LORD? We cannot recognize something we have yet to experience so we should provide the same desire of recognition for those traveling beside us. God wants each and every one of us to experience Him, to hear His call for us, and to enter into fellowship with Him on a personal level. God doesn’t operate with proxies now that we are all indwelled with the Holy Spirit upon accepting Christ through the crucifixion. To hear God in our own lives we must commit to really spending time with the One who has much to say to us, a multitude of plans for us and an amazing love indwelled within us.

Our responsibility as Christians is not only to learn how to recognize Christ in our own lives but to assist in the development of “baby Christians” as they are learning to discern the presence of Christ in their own lives.