I Samuel 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days: there was no open vision.
I believe that God wants to give you guidance today in everything that you do. I think that God wants you to know His mind on every matter that matters in your life. Yet, sometimes we feel like God isn’t giving us guidance. Have you ever felt that way?
Israel was living in a time when they felt as if they were not getting guidance from God, and that was because, in a way, they were not. I Samuel 3:1 says, “And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days: there was no open vision.” The Bible says in Proverbs that “where there is no vision, the people perish.” Where there is no revelation and guidance from God, the people are in trouble. This was certainly true in the days of Samuel.
Samuel’s mother famously had given him to God, so he was living with Eli the priest to minister before the Lord by helping Eli. Eli himself had two sons that he had not governed, yet he was governing God’s people as the priest. There was a misfit there in that sense.
It seems very obvious as you read this chapter that there was a transition afoot. The Bible begins in the first verse by telling us there was no word from God in those days. Then, just a few verses later the Bible says that the Lord called Samuel. How amazing! God was hardly talking to Israel! God had spoken by a prophet to Eli telling him of the judgment that was coming on his house because of the sin that he did not restrain, yet God was talking to a mere child, Samuel.
Eli wisely instructed Samuel that when he heard God speaking again he should answer, “Speak, LORD, for thy servant heareth.” God did speak. He gave Samuel a heads up about what He intended to do. Eli again wisely conceded, “It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.”
Verse 19 says, “And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.” God not only spoke to Samuel, God spoke through Samuel. He was giving guidance again, something that had been lacking. “All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.” He was appearing, giving guidance once again because God speaks to those who listen, and He gives power to their words.
It wasn’t that God wasn’t speaking; it was that Israel was not listening. If you are trying to talk to someone, and they just refuse to listen, what happens eventually? Eventually, you won’t try to talk to them anymore because they won’t listen. Now God is not a man or a woman; He is God, yet similarly when God speaks and we don’t listen, it dries up.
When I respond to the guidance God gives, I get more guidance. When I listen to what God says, I get more of His truth in my life. If you feel like guidance is lacking, then go back to the last point of guidance. For starters, go back to the Bible. These are God’s words written down eternally in a concrete fashion so you can see them. God is omnipotent, merciful, and gracious, but God will not speak forever to those who will not listen.
Today, rest assured that God wants to guide you and God will. If you can’t sense God’s guidance, then go back to the last point when you knew you had His guidance. If you are not sure where that is, then begin in the Bible and begin today.