9 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. 1Samuel3:9
Scripture is our best starting point for life and for soul-care.
It is an abundant treasure trove in which we can find:
- the stories of real human beings who journeyed with God
- passionate poems of God-followers who experience joy and sorrow
- intimate pen-sketches of the life and ministry of Jesus
- the struggle of those who tried to hear God's word in the midst of history
- laws that reveal God's justice
- lessons from the mistakes of those who blew it
- the adventures of the church spreading out across cultures
- the warnings and encouragements offered to the early churches
- wisdom nuggets from those who wrestled with life and God
- irony, drama, humour, poetry, rich imagery and real LIFE.
- the logical details of the awesome plan of salvation
BUT the Bible is not an end in itself - we are not Biblicists - we don't worship Scripture, but we read it because we believe in a God who speaks to us and that the Bible reminds us what He is like and how He "sounds".
Samuel didn't know it was God speaking and he didn't know how to answer.
We serve a God who is in constant DIALOGUE with us. God speaks in our circumstances, He whispers in our consciences, He uses the wise words of others to prompt us and He nudges our spirits in the right direction. He will hug us in a sunrise, comfort us in a sunset and impress us in a waterfall. He will calm us with a rush of peace in the midst of a time of trouble and He will invigorate us in a time of praise and worship.
But we can often miss these "words" because we forget what He "sounds" like.
When I throw myself into His Word on a regular basis, I find that I know what He "sounds" like and recognise His words in the rest of my life. And in Scripture I learn how to answer when God speaks.
