The Eli Syndrome

Psalm 50:1 “The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and calls the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.”

Perched on a swing that is housed on a screened-in porch at a rustic little cabin in northern PA, I was basking in some uninterrupted time with God. A personal prayer retreat of sorts.  The quiet feels almost foreign to my soul at times but for the 48 plus hours in this remote little Pennsylvania town (population 641), the quiet filled me up. Late in the morning, I ventured down to a small boat dock to soak up some sunshine and to hear God speak. I sat enraptured by the reflection of the changing leaves on the water, the calm beauty surrounding Nuangola Lake and delighted with the presence of a new canine friend.  A neighboring resident’s old dog, Bentley introduced himself by slobbering on the pages of my Bible.  Smile. As Bentley lazed in the sun by my side, I positioned myself so that the glorious rays of sunshine would dance on my face (which may have been the best moment of the 2 ½ day retreat). I felt ready to listen to the Father speak. I listened and heard the quiet only.  I listened and fell asleep in the sun.  I listened while reading the Word of God and jotted down just a few thoughts on the pages of my journal.  I listened some more and once again, heard the quiet only.

In recent days I have pondered the dialogue between the God of the universe and His own.  My mind seemed to wander to that place of musing again while I socked up the sunshine on that rustic dock at the shoreline of the small lake before me. Within moments I found my heart reflecting on the familiar account of young Samuel as told in I Samuel 3 ... a story that seems to show up everywhere my mind turns lately.  Remember it with me.  Samuel is a young boy living in the temple under the authority of Eli, along with Eli’s two unruly teenage sons.  One night, Samuel hears his name called out as clearly as if it were someone standing next to him in broad daylight.  He surmises it must be Eli.  He runs to Eli’s room and wakens the old man to ask why he beckoned him but Eli replies that he did not call out to him.  As you may know, this happened three times until Eli finally instructs Samuel that if it happens again, he is to say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”  That is exactly how it came down and God told young Sam what was about to happen to Eli and his family, and it wasn’t exactly a message of glad tidings.

The heavenly message is far from the end of the story but was enough for my heart to hang out and ruminate on for a moment.  What strikes me about this account is that Eli was an experienced, “professional” priest with a high religious position and God bypassed him to speak instead to a young boy, about Eli.  Why is that? Why would the Lord bypass Eli with a message for Eli?  I can’t help but note that God is never impressed with titles, degrees and positions, like we all too often are.  The Bible is clear that God is impressed by only one thing and that is a life marked by faith; dependence upon Him believing that because He is God, He can and will do what He says. But beyond that, although little Sam had been taught how to minister to the Lord; somehow he had never been taught how to listen to His voice. 

As an Old Testament priest, Eli had to have known about listening to the voice of God but the indication here is that he no longer heard that voice. Possibly he had even forgotten that the Lord speaks to His own. I can’t help but wonder if Eli had just simply stopped listening to God’s voice somewhere along the way. Maybe he had become discouraged by life and failed to listen to the still small voice within. Maybe he was disillusioned, or offended by God through some life circumstance during a difficult season of his life.  It’s possible that Eli had  become disinterested in, or complacent about God and became so accustomed to taking care of the details of the temple that he convinced himself he didn’t need a fresh word from God’s heart.  Whatever it was, little Sam had not been taught to listen for the voice of the Lord.  So why did God bypass Eli and speak to this young boy whose heart and ears were not yet even accustomed to hearing His voice?

Could it be that God spoke to Samuel because he knew Samuel would listen?  God had seen little Sam listen to Eli and respond.  I wonder if God came to expect that Sam would listen to Him in like manner.  Sam got out of bed all three times he heard his name, wanting to respond to the voice calling him. His three-word reply said a million more, “Here I am!” God called Samuel’s name personally and He spoke to him specifically.  The Lord speaks to those who will listen.  He shares His heart with one whom He knows will respond.

Samuel also seemed to have a humble heart.  He had a servant’s demeanor, willing to respond to the call of his master. There was no apparent pleasure for Samuel in telling Eli the truth about what was about to happen to him and his loved ones.  In fact, young Sam dreaded telling Eli what God told him to say.  Samuel humbly spoke the truth to Eli, sparing him no details. The Lord speaks to those whose hearts are humble.  Humble enough to consider others as more important than one’s self (Philippians 2). God speaks to those who can be trusted with His words.

So as the sun warmed my face and Bentley stayed by my side there on that little dock, this familiar story helped me see the reflection of my heart in the mirror of His. I couldn’t help but notice more of Eli in me than I saw of young Samuel.  I stand guilty of busy-ness to a fault.  I get caught up in the details of doing for God, letting it gobble up precious time and energy that could be spent being with God. Too often I permit discouragement to deafen my ear and disappointment to harden my heart.  And I miss God’s voice.

I intentionally snuck away from the demands of life for a few days to hear that still small voice.  And yet I only heard the quiet.  I had kept my appointment at the dock to enjoy the quiet, and the beauty, and to hear God speak. Although I recognized His beauty all around me, it seemed I only heard the quiet. I listened more than I heard. There in a camp chair on an old rusty dock, I heard God's unmistakable voice break the quiet and speak truth. I have an Eli heart. I finally replied, “Here I am! Change my heart.”