Are you living out of position?

"Here I am... for you called me..."
1 Samuel 3:8

This morning as I read about the heart and life of Eli the priest I was reminded about how important "position" is in own my spiritual life. I really believe that the major struggle I face in the Christian life is trying to stay centered on the very person of Christ. There are so many distractions, so much of this world tempting to draw me away from a pure and simple devotion to Christ. Man I want to live out of the overflow! As you read this chapter you will find that Eli had become completely comfortable and complacent with the things of God. He had lost all sensitivity to hear Gods' voice. And yet here was a man that worked in the temple... the very place where the worship of God was supposed to take place. Where people saw the very glory of our God, the place where hearts were changed and lives were restored, where sin was forgiven and yet Eli had lost his awe of God. And when we lose our awe of God, when we lose our ability to hear God's voice, we will also lose our ability to see God as he really is. In (v1-2) it says "And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent... At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. " I think this is a huge statement because it screams to us about the importance of remaining in a place spiritually where we not only hear God's voice but see him clearly. Unfortunately Eli had lost the ability to do both...why...because he was in his OWN PLACE!

As you finish reading the chapter you see the consequence of living the Christian life out of position...(v17) " He said, "What is the word that He spoke to you?..." This is Eli asking young Samuel to tell him what God had spoken. Eli was so out of position with God that the "priest" couldn't even hear the voice of his God without the help of a young temple servant. Eli had lost his ability to hear from God. Eli was out of position spiritually. Our sensitivity to Gods word and his voice is always an indicator of the spiritual positioning of our lives! Where are you this morning? When was the last time you clearly heard the word of God speaking to you!

God my prayer today is that you would not find me in my own place. God may I have the heart of Samuel, who when hearing your voice said "Here I am..." God remove anything and everthing that dulls my senses to hearing your voice and seeing your face! Father I pray as Samuel did, "Speak LORD, your servant is listening!"

Not Ashamed...Bill