And we’re… back! Another week. Another reality.
So, here’s the thing. I’m not saying youth group on Friday was pointless. Well, actually it WAS (strictly speaking) because dodge balls are (thankfully) not pointy. Now, that night I know many of our number opted to join Cornerstone’s musical, instead–which was (I do not exaggerate) superbly executed. You impressed us with your hard work and talent, and so we will forgive you for neglecting the Wonderful World of Dodgeball. (But just this once.) So, what’dya say we just leave our commentary for Friday at that? Okay, THERE it goes, and now…we’re entering… an unknown zone.

It seems like this has been a theme lately, and it makes me wonder if God is trying to get our attention. If he is, he’s using the direct approach, because for the last month this theme has been an emphasis on the importance of hearing God’s voice. Isn’t that appropriate? It’s certainly challenging. Taking stock of where we’re at can be discouraging–I have yet to meet someone who thinks they’ve “arrived” in this area. Life is so busy and fast-paced that everyone has their share of obstacles to negotiate. But I think there are special challenges for our “digital generation”: In our downtime, we head to the computer/t.v., turn on some music, pick up the phone. I’m really struck by all the things that just fill our lives with noise and keep our minds occupied.

Hearing God’s voice generally involves (you may be way ahead of me here) making time to listen. When was the last time you (or I) shut everything off, set it aside, and initiated an un-aided conversation with God (no music, no pressing time restraints, no worship leader) and then ALLOWED him to answer? Even if we’re pretty consistent for a while, it’s tends to be one of the first things to go, when life picks up.

But the thing is, it’s even more important now, than ever. Does anyone else notice the bad reputation Christians are getting? Or else feel bombarded by conflicting ideas about how a Christian should live, what they should accept and reject, even HOW they should carry out the two great commands? We need to concretely know what God’s standards are. Are we able to back up our ethics with Biblical passages? Do we know why we believe what we believe?

On Sunday, Pastor Buchanan noted that there were times before Jesus came when: “The word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.” (1 Sam. 3:1b). Now Jesus has made a way for us to have contact with God, but even today we have to learn to hear him. And in a way, it’s harder because there’s a mass of Christian material out there. We COULD just rely on what it tells us, and never really learn to recognize God’s voice ourselves. But that’s not necessarily wise, and that’s not how we’re called to live. Jesus was constantly appealing to his audiences: “He who has ears, let him hear.” We still have ears, today.

That passage in 1 Sam. (above) gives us an example in Samuel, who learned to hear God’s voice after a few failed attempts and a little help from Eli. It says that all his life: “The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.” (v.19). We may never be among the few that God appeared to directly, but we still have God’s word, today! Like Samuel, we need to learn to listen and get into God’s word. Because the world is getting louder and louder, and it’s harder and harder to recognize God’s voice, in the din.