Week 11 Tuesday

I’m Listening

Today’s scripture selection: First Samuel 1-5

Key verse: First Samuel 3:10

Samuel was only a boy.  But God had plans for him.  One night he heard the Lord say:

“See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.”

Samuel had been instructed by his mentor Eli to listen to what God had to say, and so he did.  Ironically, what came next was a word of judgment against what Eli had been up to himself.

But for me, the interesting part of the story is what Samuel had to do to hear a word from the Lord – he had to listen.

Now that may seem obvious.  But think about it – how often have you found yourself in a conversation with someone – when you suddenly realize you haven’t heard the last few things they had to say?  Why?  Because you were so busy thinking about what you were going to say next that you couldn’t process what they were telling you.

Pastors and marriage counselors are very familiar with this all too common tendency.  They frequently counsel their clients to really listen to what their partners are saying instead of just talking over them.

So it is with our conversations with God.

If you want to receive counsel from above, sometimes the best thing you can do is just be quiet.  I believe God is always willing to give us the counsel we so desperately need.  It’s just that often, because of anxiety or confusion or arrogance or, who knows what, we just don’t listen for it.

So, as I often say to the little ones in my church, let’s all “put on our listening ears.”

God has something important to say to us.

Prayer: Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.  AMEN.

Paul Simrell's avatar

By Paul Simrell

The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program. Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

2 comments

Leave a comment