Here I Am-Called in the Quiet

Here I am…What exactly am I here for? For some reason I can’t really explain, I’ve been wondering this a lot recently. I am here… but what am I doing? Am I doing the right things? Is this worth it?

These questions have been sitting with me, and I haven’t really known what to do with them.

Here I am— in doubt, anxious, confused… just… tired.

Kind of sounds like your typical college student answer, right? “What’s your high and low of the week?” “Well… my low is that I’m tired.” Every time.

But maybe for some of us, it’s deeper than that. Ik it is for me. We aren’t just physically tired, but spiritually tired. Drained. Empty. Maybe not right now, but something you’ve felt at some point in life.

And in those moments, these questions always seem to quietly come back:

Here I am… but what am I here for?

Where is God? Why can't I hear Him?

(Transition) And what’s interesting… is that Scripture opens one story in almost the same kind of silence.

There's a young boy, serving in the temple. Night has fallen. Lamps are dim. Everything is quiet.

And the beginning of the text says something almost unsettling:

- It says, “In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.”

- In other words, God seemed silent. And it was in that silence that God began to call upon a name. (Brief pause)

If you have your Bible, turn with me to 1 Samuel 3, and listen to how this moment unfolds (Read 1-5)

1. When God speaks… will we recognize His voice?

- When God first spoke in this story, Samuel doesn’t know it’s God. He hears the call but misunderstands the source.

- Verse 7 tells us Samuel did not yet know the Lord because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

- BUT NOTICE: Samuel is doing all the right things. He's serving before the Lord in the temple under Eli, his mentor. He's even sleeping there!

- Yet, God’s voice is still unrecognizable to him.

- Again and again, God calls Samuel, and both times he runs to Eli saying, “here I am! You called me!” To which Eli says, “I did not call you. Go back to bed.”

(Transition) On the final time, Eli realizes it’s the Lord who is calling Samuel. And he tells Samuel what to say the next time God calls… (Read v. 9)

2. How will we answer when the Lord calls our name?

- Eli just told Samuel what to say. Samuel has a choice then. Listen or ignore.

- Too many times, I've heard and misunderstood. Too many times, I've heard and even chosen to ignore.

- Even in the moments where it seems God is distant or quiet; He's still calling us. Even His silence can speak to us.

- So, how will we answer? Will we respond and listen, or ignore?

(Read v. 10)

The difference between Samuel and us today is not that God speaks more clearly now… it’s that we already know what His voice sounds like!

We hold it in our hands. We hear it proclaimed. We see it revealed in Christ.

(Transition) So, even in the dryness, the mundane, the tired and empty, even when everything feels silent – we know from this that…

(MI) – We have been called – and we are invited to answer.

(Conclusion)

And that brings us back to the quiet center of this story…

A boy in the night. A voice calling his name.

And finally, a response:

“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

The questions change from “why am I here? Where is God? Why can't I hear Him?” To a simple answer: (Hold up Bible) “Listen.”

Here I am. Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.