It is the Lord

So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him."

I Samuel 3.18

Samuel had his first assignment from the Lord and it was a doozey! Samuel was to deliver a message to Eli, his mentor and father figure. The word from the Lord for Eli was,” Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” (vs 14 )

You can read the rest… it was a tough message, a message of coming discipline from the Lord for Eli’s refusal to take keep his boys in line.

What a tough job Samuel was given. I mean he just learned to hear the voice of the Lord and once his ears were tuned, this was the first word God passed to him.

What catches my attention is the response of Eli to this very heavy message. After getting the full download from Samuel Eli says, “it is the Lord.”

I don’t know if you have ever had to deliver a hard word to someone, occasionally the Lord gives me that assignment. It is not one I relish to say the least. So it is with great interest that I have considered Samuel’s manner to glean some help so that even if I have a word of correction or exhortation to deliver it is received as, “it is the Lord.”

Let’s look together at some of the key lessons to learn from Samuel:

Eli was asked – It never pays to get ahead of God. And in these situations all the more so. Wait for the Lord to make the opening, to bring the conversation around or at the very least, give you the green light to proceed. That waiting time is essential as the Lord prepares the heart on the receiving side to accept the message. Let the Lord go first.

This wasn’t the first time Eli had heard about this. (Read chapter 2). I can be confident that the Lord has sent the message ahead of time. If my message is truly “from the Lord”, the news I am sharing is not new information, it will only confirm what the Holy Spirit has already been whispering.

Which brings me to another point… Samuel’s message actually WAS from the Lord. I had better make sure mine is as well. No personal agenda or axe to grind; no personal investment in the outcome, no manipulation. Any of that becomes obvious and is of the flesh. So if I want a word received as from the Lord, it must actually be “from the Lord”.

You see humility in Samuel in vs 15-16 of the story. Hey, he had a word from God for the boss… time to take him down a notch, time to see him squirm – there was none of that at all. When Eli calls him in vs. 16 he says, “Here am I” just as he had said before. There was no air about him, not haughtiness, just the same servant heart he had always possessed. Humility is key. To remind ourselves that, "there but for the grace of God, go I" is always helpful.

The message was not editorialized it was, “just the facts” as officer Friday would say. No editorializing, no extra input, no personal anecdotes, Just the Word of God. Oh man, how important is that. They don’t need our wisdom; they need to hear from God.

Colossians 4.6 says

“Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

Paul encourages us in the "how" of what we say; the "what" we we are to say is to be the Word of God.

There are times when we have been asked to speak truth into someone’s life. It isn’t easy; it isn’t always comfortable. But my prayer for you,,, and would you pray for me, that in those times the message would be received as FROM THE LORD.