A Trusted Mentor

Mentorship on our walk with Christ is so critical. There will be times when we struggle to know if we are hearing the voice of God. In those times, we often want to reach out to someone who can provide us wisdom to help us determine if it is truly Him.

When God seems to be speaking, but we are not sure if it's Him, it is good to seek the wisdom of a trusted mentor. I've learned that no one will be able to truly hear the directions of God, like the ears of the one He speaks to; still, wisdom can be expressed to us in those moments to determine if it is genuinely Him leading.

Samuel was a young boy under Eli's mentorship when he heard God's voice, yet He didn't honestly know who was speaking. So when he heard the voice, he went to his trusted mentor Eli and asked him if he had called him. At first, Eli didn't know what was happening, so twice he sent Samuel back to lie down.

Yet, that third time, Eli realized something else was happening. So when Samuel appeared again, Eli began to mentor him and gave him instructions. He told him to return to lying down, but this time if God called him to respond to him.

What can we learn from Eli and Samuel when determining if what we hear is truly God?

1. God will keep calling when we struggle to recognize it's Him. Samuel could not sleep because God continued to call him. Each time he was woken and went to his mentor. Each time he came back, God called again until his mentor realized that it was indeed God calling him.
2. God will send us wise counsel. God does not send wise counsel to be a translator of what God is saying nor to confirm if it is God entirely. Yet, He sends a mentor who gives us wisdom and instructions on leaning our ear to God and genuinely responding to what He is saying. When Eli realized this was God, he sent Samuel back to lie down. He instructed that "if" he heard the voice of God again to respond to Him saying, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." When Samuel obeyed the instructions of Eli, it was confirmed that it was indeed God and not Eli calling him.
3. God confirms things that He's spoken before. When Samuel responded to God, He answered and began to emit a prophetic message over his life concerning his very own mentor. So much so that it made Samuel fearful. He decided not to move until the following day. This was a word God stated had been prophesied before, so this was not a new message but a confirmation that it would still take place in Eli's life. When Samuel finally told Eli, Eli responded with submission and reverence to God's will.

Samuel was a young boy who had not yet learned how to hear God, but God still used him and placed people around him who could guide him in knowing when it was God. Eli was a man under judgment, yet he was still the man God chose to be a mentor for this prophet of God. Samuel knew it was God because of his submission to the mentorship and leadership that God had placed around him.