Recognizing the Correct Voice

I remember perusing the meat shelf in our local grocery store once when I was very young, studying the cuts and being fascinated/disgusted by the "spaghetti meat" (ground beef) in the small rectangle packages. I remember needing to ask my mother something (30-some years later, I don't remember what the question was), so I tugged on my mom's coat-sleeve and asked my question, my attention still on the squiggly meat. I was surprised when my mom didn't answer immediately.

Glancing up, my heart lodged in my throat when I met the amused gaze of a woman I'd never seen before. Horribly embarrassed, I backed into one of the nearby aisles, shaking and quaking, and it took me a few minutes to recover long enough to find my mom (in the next aisle over). 

I'd taken my attention off my parent long enough that I'd lost track (granted, for only a few seconds) of where she was. I'd temporarily and mistakenly allowed myself to think another person was my mother, because my focus was elsewhere, on the spaghetti meat. Ew. (Side note: I love hamburger once it's cooked, but my children make it difficult for me to continue loving it, because my son calls it "brain meat." You're welcome.)

This morning, I was all geared up to finish my prayer time and get ready for Youtube church, when I sensed a nudge from the Holy Spirit to review the story of the boy Samuel in 1 Samuel 3. In this chapter, young Samuel is ministering with Eli the priest. In verse 1, it sets the stage: "In those days, the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions." In my mind, this underscores how very "WOW-moment" this was. God's voice calling to Samuel wasn't just your run-of-the-mill "I felt the Lord telling me..."

The next thing that stood out to me: God called Samuel's name twice before he knew the Lord, before he had any kind of relationship with God. In verse 4, it says: "Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, 'Here I am,' And he ran to Eli and said, 'Here I am, you called me.'

Verse 6: "Again, the Lord called, 'Samuel!' [With an exclamation point this time!] And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am; you called me.'"

Verse 7: "Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him."

Compare and contrast: Samuel did not know the Lord, but he still heard His voice and answered it. Eli knew the Lord (he was a priest, for goodness's sake), but it took him three times to realize what the Lord was doing.

John 10:27 says: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." I was struck by how important it is to really know the Lord's voice, especially when there are a lot of voices that sound similar. One of my favorite things I learned about penguins was this: When the birds gather in their nesting grounds, the mother penguin calls for her mate and her chick amid the loud, squawking, noisy mess, and the mate recognizes her and makes himself known. It blows my mind; the chicks are reunited with their mothers, even in the middle of all the clamor.

I'm praying the same for us today. I started school this past Thursday. There have been a lot of voices all around me clamoring for my attention. I want to make sure I hear and recognize and understand the one voice above every other voice where I can go for rest, fellowship, and communication, and listen to His perfect words. Psalm 12:6: "And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times."

Here's a thought: the Lord promises to refine us like silver in Malachi 3:3. Maybe we are the words of the Lord to the people around us.

I love what 1 Samuel 3:19 says: "The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and He let none of his words fall to the ground." It's unclear in my Bible if that first pronoun after the comma is referring to God or to Samuel, but either way: If Samuel didn't let any of his own words fall the ground, I love how careful he was in speaking what God gave him to say. He tested those words and proved them, measuring them out before he issued them. If the pronoun refers to God Himself, I am so thankful that He holds our words in His hands and perfectly guards His message.

I hope you're encouraged today. I'm praying that the Lord gives us His words, and that He holds our messages carefully. Jumping over to one of my favorite Hebrews passages, in 4:12, it says of God's word: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."