Sunday Musings attempts to apply spiritual understanding to the everyday world.
According to the Bible, Samuel was a prophet, judge and priest who dedicated his life to doing God’s will. To understand how Samuel came to be so pious and righteous, we should first look at the strong female character in this story.
Hannah was upset because she had not been able to have a child, so one day she went into the temple and promised the Lord that if He allowed her to have a son, she would in turn “give him to the Lord all the days of his life.” (Samuel 1:11). Not long after, she became pregnant with her husband and had Samuel. Once Samuel was old enough, Hannah took him to the temple and presented him to the high priest Eli, who took him in and became his teacher.
At one point, a young Samuel is asleep, when he hears someone call his name. He assumes it’s Eli and goes to see what Eli wants. This happens a few times before Eli realizes it is God who’s calling Samuel. So Eli tells him, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” (Samuel 1:9) Samuel did as instructed. Through the years, the Lord spoke to Samuel, who in turn told the people of Israel.
What in the world does this story have to do with the modern world? In Christianity, believers are told they have a calling unique to them and assigned by God. If they say and truly believe, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening,” that calling becomes clear. The challenge to those who hear the calling is to actually follow the plan, whatever it may be. That is where so many fail to follow through.
Considering the secular nature of much of the world, how can the story of Hannah and Samuel provide relevance and guidance?
We see someone like Hannah, so desperate to have a child, promise to place that child in someone else’s care if it’s for the greater good. Perhaps this is the ultimate reward and sacrifice of parenthood: to raise a great child, then put them out into the world with our blessing. But for what purpose do we put them out into the world? To become an awesome baseball player? To make the varsity cheerleading squad? To get into a prestigious college? Those are all fine, but will they fulfill a higher purpose? And what is that higher purpose?
And what of Samuel inviting the Lord to speak to him? How is that lesson viable in the secular world? Maybe it’s taking a look at what’s going on around us and seeing where we can do some good. It might be in our home; it might be at work; it might be at a homeless shelter.
The stories of Hannah and Samuel are about patience, acceptance and trust. Those are harder to possess than most of us think. The lessons we can take into our everyday lives involve slowing down and listening to the voice inside of all of us, accepting the mission that speaks to us and trusting that this is the correct path forward.
The key to doing God's will is faith and belief that complete union with God (theosis) is our purpose. We must have stillness (hesyhia) to hear God's voice which requires a stepping aside from the hustle of the world. Yet, it also requires humility, discernment, and alertness for there other other spirits who would come to deceive us. Satan himself can and will masquerade as an angel of light to lead us astray, to puff us up with pride, and have us engulfed in spirtual delusion (prelest)."
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places", but fear not for we were promised that He will never leave us. "Put not your trust in princes in sons of man", but trust in the forgiving Creator. We will fall and fail, but if we remain humble and sincerely seek the Truth/Him, He will be revealed.