Something I've been pondering a lot lately is how to decipher between the voice of the Spirit and the voice of my brain. It can be a tricky thing trying to figure out if a thought is inspiration from the Lord or if it is simply just that -- a thought.
In 1 Samuel 3, the Lord is calling upon a young Samuel to be the new prophet. He calls Samuel's name three times in the night, yet each time Samuel mistakes it for Eli. Finally, Eli suggest to Samuel that perhaps it is the Lord that is calling his name. When the Lord calls Samuel the fourth time, Samuel answers "Speak; for thy servant heareth" (1 Samuel 3:10). This ten verse story holds so many teachings in it but I think I will just focus on one or two.
1. Recognizing the Lord's voice:
This passage is so beautiful because it shows Samuel coming to know the Lord's voice. Samuel's experience was of course different than any of ours because he was a prophet and spoke directly with God. However, we need to learn to recognize the voice of the Spirit because that is how God often communicates with us.
2. Being willing to serve:
Each time the Lord called out to Samuel, he responded "Here am I." Even though Samuel originally thought Eli was calling him, he was willing to serve because he was loyal and eager to do the right things. If our hearts are set upon doing good, we should be willing to do righteous things whether it comes directly from the Lord or not.
I think what I've learned from this all is that if I have a good thought, I'm going to act on it because I know the Lord will not inspire me to do anything that is not good. If that thought is the Spirit, then I am being a faithful servant. If it is my own brain thinking, I have simply done a good deed and nothing is lost. I hope to become as faithful and as willing to live the Gospel as Samuel was. I hope that each and every time the Lord tries to communicate with me that I say "Here am I."
0 comments:
Post a Comment