may it be a sweet sweet sound in my ear

1 Samuel 3
 
"The boy Samuel was serving God under Eli’s direction. This was at a time when the revelation of God was rarely heard or seen. One night Eli was sound asleep (his eyesight was very bad—he could hardly see). It was well before dawn; the sanctuary lamp was still burning. Samuel was still in bed in the Temple of God, where the Chest of God rested.  Then God called out, “Samuel, Samuel!”  Samuel answered, “Yes? I’m here.” Then he ran to Eli saying, “I heard you call. Here I am.”  Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” And so he did.

God called again, “Samuel, Samuel!”  Samuel got up and went to Eli, “I heard you call. Here I am.”  Again Eli said, “Son, I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” (This all happened before Samuel knew God for himself. It was before the revelation of God had been given to him personally.)

God called again, “Samuel!”—the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, “Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am.”  That’s when it dawned on Eli that God was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, “Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again, say, ‘Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.’” Samuel returned to his bed^.

Then God came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak. I’m your servant, ready to listen.”

 God said to Samuel, “Listen carefully. I’m getting ready to do something in Israel that is going to shake everyone up and get their attention. The time has come for me to bring down on Eli’s family everything I warned him of, every last word of it. I’m letting him know that the time’s up. I’m bringing judgment on his family for good. He knew what was going on, that his sons were desecrating God’s name and God’s place, and he did nothing to stop them. This is my sentence on the family of Eli: The evil of Eli’s family can never be wiped out by sacrifice or offering.”  Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then rose early and went about his duties, opening the doors of the sanctuary, but he dreaded having to tell the vision to Eli.  But then Eli summoned Samuel: “Samuel, my son!  Samuel came running: “Yes? What can I do for you?”  “What did he say? Tell it to me, all of it. Don’t suppress or soften one word, as God is your judge! I want it all, word for word as he said it to you.”

So Samuel told him, word for word. He held back nothing.
Eli said, “He is God. Let him do whatever he thinks best.”

Samuel grew up. God was with him, and Samuel’s prophetic record was flawless. Everyone in Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, recognized that Samuel was the real thing—a true prophet of God. God continued to show up at Shiloh, revealed through his word to Samuel at Shiloh.

I remember the first time I heard the voice of God, audibly heard Him speak to me.  It was in October of 2010 in the cold, barely dripping water, of a make shift shower in Dira Dawa, Ethiopia.  

I love Africa, everything about it.  I wanted to live there (I still do some days), and when I went on this trip I really thought God was going to send crashes of thunder and waves of lightening and sound a trumpet to tell me "I want to you move here."  But guess what, He didn't.  Instead this is what I heard from God, "If you don't know how to love people where you are, why would I send you here to do it."  Hard to hear.

This is what God said to me - for the first time in my life hearing His voice, so clear and loud.  I can still hear that voice today.  And there I was, standing in this wobbly shower, trying to figure out if someone was outside the door talking to me, or if I was making it all up in my head.  But it was real, it was a real voice, it was the real voice of God. 

I didn't really know what to do next, so I just picked up my Bible and opened it and started reading, and where it took me, is how I ended up where I am today.

   If you get rid of unfair practices,
    quit blaming victims,
    quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
    and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
    your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
    I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
    firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
    a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
    rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
    restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
    make the community livable again.

Isaiah 58:9-12

I had never read the book of Isaiah in my life.  I just knew it was a long book in the Old Testament.  But I started reading from chapter 1 and finished the entire thing in 2 days. When I got to chapter 58, it rocked me to the core.  It changed the destiny of my life.  It came alive to me.  It confirmed what I had been searching for in Ethiopia, that took me to the streets of downtown Jackson.  

I had been "going to church" for many years, served IN the church, was at so many events AT the church, attended every Sunday OF church; yet, I was still so empty, missing something I couldn't quite figure out what it was.    

Then, that voice spoke to me.  That sound I will never forget in my ears, in my head, in my heart.  The voice of truth.  And when I heard it, I never wanted it to stop talking to me.  Jesus has the sweetest, most tender, loving, gentle, kind, precious voice you will ever hear or know.  Listen for it, because when you hear it, you don't want it to ever leave you.

I came back to Jackson, gave everything I had away (including myself), gave up "church" to BE the church, and today....well, you know what life is like today.  

Samuel was training to be a priest, he was in the temple everyday, learning from men serving God, but when God spoke to him - he didn't know it was God.  (chew on that)  It took him 3 times hearing the voice of the Lord, and someone else knowing it was the Lord, for him to realize what was happening  (chew on that, too)  But when he recognized the voice, it changed everything. 

But get this - what God said to him - it was hard to hear.  It wasn't a romantic, fun-filled vacation, joyful uproar, jolly of a good time, news.....it was hard news.  (chew on that, again)  And then he had to share it with Eli, even harder.  

When I heard the Lord speak to me, I wanted it to be something exciting, like "move to Africa and you will have the time of your life!", but instead, it was "dear beloved, give everything you have away, and move 15 minutes down the street to the hood."  (shoulders sag and sigh a little) 

 

But what did Samuel do?  Well, he crawled in bed and stayed up all night thinking about how he was going to tell Eli what God said.  (that's ok, sometimes, as long as you still do what God says)  I did that for a few weeks myself.  But then I got up, did what God said to do, and never looked back.

Six years later........

I was in the yard yesterday, picking up freeze pop papers, hot chip bags, water bottle caps, and said to the Lord, "UGH, why do I have to do this everyday!"  and Jesus said to me, (get ready for this) "What did you think you would be doing.  Getting manicures and massages all the time?"  HAHA.  Jesus, you so funny sometimes. 

Listen for his voice.  Know his voice.  Obey his voice.  Even when it is hard to hear.

It can, and will, change everything about your life, and the life he has planned for you.

This was one of the faces I loved most about that time in Ethiopia.  That trip was so beautiful, and I love that Jesus took me all the way there, to tell me to come all the way here.