The Burning Question
How Do I Know God’s Will?
March 9, 2008
1 Samuel 3:1-11
Well, this is a tricky one. In fact there are really no easy answers. Basically I want to suggest an emphasis today. This is what has worked for me and for thousands of others who follow Jesus. It works like this. How do I know God’s will? By learning to wait on the Lord. And as I have mentioned before this is not a passive waiting but actively waiting on God.
One of my favorite passages in this regards is the story of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:1-11.
The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.
One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel.
Samuel answered, "Here I am." And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.
Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
"My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."
Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me."
Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ’Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!"
Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
And the LORD said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.
Here we see a picture of a very young man that had been given over or dedicated by his mother to the service of the Lord. His job was to keep watch over the articles in the temple specifically to make sure that the golden lampstand did not go out. So Samuel’s job was to wait. Wait for the Lord. Wait for someone to tell him wait to do. Wait for the candles to burn low and replace them. He did not have a multitude of distractions. It was early in the morning. No crowds gathering for worship. He laid down to rest in the Lord. And this for me is one of the most crucial elements to hearing and knowing what God’s will is.
Waiting on the Lord
The first thing that I find to hearing and knowing the will of God is:
• Availability
I will be honest here. Sometimes this is hard. Kids. Work. Church. TV shows. Family. Health problems. Bills. Houses. We just are not available. One has to be intentional if we are to be available for God to reveal Himself and His ways. Samuel was available.
When I first got sober, one of the most powerful blessings that I stumbled onto was making myself available. As many of you know, when I turned my life over to God, God relieved me of the obsession and compulsion to drink. And as I sought to simply do His will, there were several changes that I sensed that God was leading me to make. I enrolled in school part-time. I changed jobs. I began to form new friendships who had similar goals as me: staying sober and seeking a deeper connection to God.
Often I would have hours of time between classes before I would go to work in the evenings delivering pizzas. This allowed me to simply wander as the peregrine often did. Sometimes I would hang out with people from Campus Crusade. I would go to a noon prayer gathering on campus where I learned to meditate and pray. Sometimes I would journey through Dayton to meet up with some other recovering alcoholics. And it was through these times that I learned to hear and do God’s voice. I first made myself available. I intentionally and with conscious effort sought what it was that God was doing and what I sensed that God was beckoning me to do.
The second thing in waiting on the Lord is trial and error.
• Trail and error
Did you notice that Samuel did not yet know the Lord? He thought he heard someone calling him so he went to Eli to find out what Eli wanted. Four times Samuel had to hear God call him. It took Eli who was supposed to be the “man of God” three times to realize what God was doing with Samuel.
And many times, our own hearing and understanding and then doing God’s will is the same way. We may not hear a voice as Samuel seems to be doing but if we are intentional and make ourselves available, we certainly will get an impression of what God may be saying. And if you are like me, you wonder if this really was God.
During my early days of sobriety, believe me, there was a lot of error. But if we are intentional and we take time to reflect and meditate on the events of our day, then we can begin to learn what the voice of God sounds like. Jesus said that his sheep know his voice.
But we are not left without some tools. These are not all-inclusive but they are some of the most valuable for me.
o Reflection
Taking time to reflect on the day’s events or the week’s events is really part of being available but it is extremely important in order to determine when we have succeeded and when we have missed the mark. Both are helpful. I begin to learn what the other voices sound like. I begin to learn what the little me inside that struts and poses sounds like. I learn what the whisper of the gentle master sounds like.
Early on, I began to get a sense of the direction that God was leading me. I often felt like stretch Armstrong. Remember that? Pulled and stretched from every limb. It didn’t always make sense at the time especially during those first two years. But now I see how powerful those times were in forming me into the person that God desired me to be.
There have been many failures but let me share with you a recent success. A few weeks ago, I had the distinct impression that I needed to call LaVanice. It wasn’t something I felt God wanted me to do but something that I needed to do. The feeling persisted for a couple of days until I knew today was the day. So I called. No particular reason but just to let her know that I had been thinking about her and praying for her.
LaVanice reminded that this was the anniversary of her husband’s death. At that moment, I knew that God was in that. God was reminding me of how much He looks after all the details of our lives. God loves us that much. God loves you more than you can imagine.
The second tool is:
o Community
I cannot tell you how much I depended on people to help me process and discern what it was that God was saying and doing. So much so, that I firmly believe that if you are operating perpetually in “Lone Ranger mode” then you probably are at the very least missing out on all that God is saying to you. At the worst, you might be living in a fastasy world worshipping a god made in your own image.
Samuel had Eli. Samuel then assisted Saul and later David. Even Jesus had his disciples. The disciples had each other. Paul relied on the other disciples and then on Barnabas, Mark, and Luke.
Community helps us ask hard questions. It helps us process. Community offers us different perspectives—different readings, if you will, of what is happening. Community affirms us and challenges us. Your community, whether a small group, or just a group of your friends, will have a major influence in your formation. So choose wisely and intentionally get involved.
The third tool is:
o God’s written Word
God has revealed His ways to us through His Word. His Word tells us the story of God’s people who are seeking their place in God’s scheme of things. These stories help us identify our place in God’s story as well.
Think of Samuel’s story. I see myself in Eli because sometimes it takes several tries for God to get things through my thick head. I definitely see myself as Samuel, who wants to do what is right and does what he thinks is right by waking up Eli but just has the wrong focus. Sometimes it takes several tries to get things right. Even then, I know there have been many times when it took me too long to get it and God passed that opportunity by me.
There are a lot of things in His Word that tells that we really don’t have to debate or question or even discuss. There are some things that we don’t have to pray about. Early on in my sobriety, some things were simple: don’t drink and don’t keep doing all those things that got me where I was. One of those things that I had to change was where I worked. I needed to get out of that environment.
God’s Word helps us as we reflect, as we meditate, and as we seek direction. Going to His Word helps challenge us, correct us, and encourage us. The early Church of God gave themselves the designation as a “People of the Book.” I like that. We are to be a People of the Book. I believe the Words there lead us to life. They are life-giving. This is why we have been having more scripture read during our corporate worship. We need to be a people of the book. As such, we need to hear what God is saying through these Words.
Some of the best sermons that I heard my pastor, Pastor Hatch, preach had nothing to with the words that were preached but with the Word of God that sank deep into my soul. This Word through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit often spoke to me in ways that had nothing to do with the sermon. This is the mystery of preaching. This is the mystery of the God’s Spirit. This is the mystery of making oneself available to hear what it is that God may be saying. And these times were not on my own but in the community of worship.
Are you available? Are you plugged in to a group of people who can help you discern God’s Will? Do are a person of the book? Do you intentional reflect on what you might see God doing and hear God saying? One of main reasons Jesus died was so that through the Holy Spirit we would have access to the throne of God. These are some of the ways of God and the ways of Jesus. My hope and wish is that you leave here inspired to move deeper into the ways of God. My assumption is that all of us as human beings are seekers. I believe we have been innately created to seek out purpose and meaning. I also believe that God is the source and solution to this search.
