Young Samuel began his ministry in days when “the word of the Lord was rare” (1 Sam.3:1). The Lord spoke audibly to him one night, but he thought that the priest Eli was calling out to him. Eli realized that the Lord was speaking to Samuel, so he urged the young boy to go back and listen. The Lord told Samuel that he was about to do something in Israel that would make everyone’s ears tingle. It had to do with bringing judgment on Eli’s family because of the wickedness of his sons and his own failure to restrain them. Samuel was reluctant to relay this message to Eli, but the old priest insisted that Samuel tell him the truth, even if it was bad news.

Samuel continued to listen to God, and the Lord was with him in his ministry. Israel recognized that Samuel was a prophet of the Lord, and the Lord’s word came through Samuel to the entire nation. (1 Sam.3:1-4:1).

We live in a time and a place where the word of the Lord is not rare. We have an abundance of Bibles that are readily available. Many Americans have more than one copy of the Scripture. A lot of people have a Bible app on their phone, always giving them easy access to the word of God.

The word of the Lord is not rare in our society. The problem is that people rarely listen to the Lord. Most don’t read the Bible. Many of those who do aren’t really listening to what God is saying. They are attempting to confirm their own pre-existing notions of the truth and affirm their current decisions about how to live their lives. Others are confused by various other voices that are vying for their attention and therefore are unable to understand what the Lord is saying.

The Lord is still speaking today, loudly and clearly. We need to be like Samuel and listen to what the Lord has to say. We also need to be like Eli, who accepted the word of the Lord even though it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. We need to be like Israel was at this time, understanding who is truly speaking the word of God and realizing that the Lord has plans for his people.

If we ignore the word of the Lord, we will most assuredly suffer the consequences. However, if we listen to God and obey him, we will be blessed beyond all measure. The choice is yours. May we all respond as Samuel did— “…Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1Sam.3:10).