1 Samuel 3:15-18 Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the LORD's house. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision he had received. But Eli called out to him. He said, "Samuel, my son." Samuel answered, "Here I am." "What did the LORD say to you?" Eli asked. "Don't hide from me anything He told you. If you do, may God punish you greatly." So Samuel told him everything. He didn't hide anything from him. Then Eli said, "He is the Lord. Let him do what He thinks is best."
Dear Friend,
I love this passage. I love the way God spoke to Samuel though he was but a youth. I love that Eli accepted the message from young Samuel with such humility. God hadn't spoken to Eli (the priest) in quite a while and as the reader, I can understand why- there was sin in Eli's house that he was not willing to properly deal with, yet he heard and understood what God was saying. He was willing to accept that God is God. How difficult it is to hear something from the Lord that is hard. I often times wish I had never heard it, and sometimes I will wrestle with it before being obedient. (Am I alone?)
But there is a flip side to the passage that I really hate...sometimes the message that God is telling us isn't for us, it is to give to someone else and that is even harder. I don't know about you, but I don't want to come off as ____ (sanctimonious, judgemental, crazy... you fill in the blank). It is never easy to say the hard things to someone you love. What if God is calling you to tell someone that Jesus IS the only way? That their religion won't save them. That the lifestyle they have chosen is wrong. That they will spend an eternity in hell unless they repent and believe on the Lord. Or what if God is calling you to chastise a brother/sister? Are you willing to be like Samuel and say the hard things- without enjoying it.
There are two issues here that Samuel did right. First, he obeyed. It was the first time God spoke to him and he got it right the first time. He spoke the truth. He said what needed to be said. But he did it because he loved Eli. He did it with a loving heart and a desire to do the right thing. He didn't enjoy it.
I don't like to share the truth when it is painful. I have had victory in this area, and I have fallen very short. I wonder what would have happened in the ministry of Samuel if he had not chosen to do the right thing? Would God have blessed him as he did? Of course we will never know in the life of Samuel because he made the right choice. Like any other sin, when I refuse to obey, my heart is hardened to God's voice and at some point He may choose another messenger and I might lose out on a blessing. Isaiah gives us a really great promise: , "In repentance and rest you will be saved, in quietness and trust is your salvation" Oh how I love that! But wait, he wasn't done- the verse ends with, "But you were not willing." ouch! (Isaiah 30:15). O what a blessing I can find when I am willing, and what blessings am I losing out on because I'm not?
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