A Rare Word

1 Samuel 3:1; Amos 8:11; 2 Timothy 2:15

1 Samuel Chapter 3, verse 1 includes an alarming statement:  ...word from the Lord was rare in those days... (NASB). I had read over this many times, but as I was studying this passage last week it stuck out to me like never before. The Hebrew word for rare used here is transliterated yâqâr and also carries the meaning of precious, costly, splendid, and scarce. How true this is. A word from the Lord is precious, very valuable, and splendid. But during the time before young Samuel comes onto the scene, the Lord was silent. Word from Him was scarce.
Amos 8:11 says “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the Lord. (NASB) That sends chills down my spine. The thought of our continued disobedience invoking silence from God is sobering. In the book Too Busy Not To Pray by Bill Hybels, he gives two reasons why we don't hear God's voice more often. The first is simply because "we don't listen for it. We don't schedule times of stillness that make communication possible." How much time do you invest in being still before the Lord? God doesn't operate on the "drive-through" plan. I have often expected God to speak "on demand" and on my schedule. The truth is, I should seek Him to set my schedule, not the other way around.
"The other reason," Bill suggests, is that "we don't plan to do anything about it... If we don't follow up on the Holy Spirit's promptings, He may see no reason to continue speaking." Why should we expect to hear from God if we don't plan to act?
I would also add that most of us spend little time in His written Word. The majority of Americans have the Word of God in their home, usually multiple copies. But that number drops drastically when it comes to those that read it on a daily basis. How can we expect to hear from Him if we are not in His precious, valuable, and splendid Word? His written Word was also rare at one time. Many men died to see to it that we have the Word of God in our language today, and copies of it to read for ourselves. And now we take it for granted, having multiple copies of it in our home yet rarely opening it to see what He says. Today, God's Word is only rare because of the dust on the cover. We don't make time to study. The scarcity of God's Word is not His fault, and certainly not His desire. Make some time to hear from Him today.

2 Timothy 2:15 (NASB) Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Pastor Mike Deese