What Was Once Precious

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent. (1 Samuel 3:1 NASB)

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him. (1 Samuel 3:7 NASB)

And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. (1 Samuel 3:21 NASB)

The word translated as "rare" in the first verse should have been translated as "precious" or "scarce"; something that conveyed the supply-and-demand relationship between how it was viewed and its frequency.  Much can be said of such a view of "a word from the LORD".   Instead, perhaps the abundance has had the opposite affect.  Yet not all the words are from my Master.

In Horton Hears a Who, his Who-ville on a puff flower was cast in a field of such flowers to hide it.  It is a common plot element in stories and movies to hide something among many examples of it.  I think it has become this way with a word from my Master.  So many voices cry out a word, claiming to be, sounding like, yet not a word from my Master.  The enemy tries to drown out the true word with a cacophony of vanity.

Perhaps the solution is to create a scarcity of words.  As my Master has said, "Cease striving and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10 NASB).  Silence, solitude, and quiet are such strangers in my life.  Maybe by cultivating those as companions the scarcity which will make a word from my Master precious and clear will be found once again.

Yet, isn't it favor from my Master that His words are so frequent, and easy to find?  Do I crave silence or perceived silence of my Master?  I want to hear better in the stillness, but I don't want my Master's words to be scarce.  Yet even without solitude and stillness, He speaks all around me.  I am truly blessed, covered in His favor that His word is so readily available to me.  The problem is me.  I don't treat the precious word of my Master with the value it deserves.

If I considered the word of my Master as precious, I would take every opportunity to hear it.  I would take every opportunity to read it, experience it, and wallow in it.  The word of my Master is shared at my church, but do I make that a priority?  The word of my Master is available to me through Scripture, yet do I spend my free time in it?  

I have opportunity every single day, multiple times throughout my day, to revel in a word from my Master.  I'm not unique, He's that prolific.  But how do I view His word?  Do I see it as the communication from the One forming stars, tracing quarks, creating at the outer reaches of the universe yet present with me? 

I like diversions in the form of games, reading, movies, and so on.  Why isn't seeking a word from my Master on that list?  Can you imagine if that's what believers did for recreation, studied Scripture for words from God?  Have I made my Master one option among many, or is He my only desirable option?  Have I finished my task, my chore, my entry in this blog, free to move on to the more enjoyable parts of my day?