In this devotional talk, the speaker addresses the common Christian dilemma of distinguishing personal emotions or thoughts from the voice of the Holy Spirit. He warns against both impulsively attributing every inner prompting to the Spirit and dismissing genuine divine guidance. Using the biblical narrative of Samuel—who was called three times by God before recognizing the voice—the speaker illustrates how the Holy Spirit persistently seeks our attention, even when we are unaware. The central message is that believers should trust not in their own ability to hear, but in the Holy Spirit’s ability to make Himself heard, resting in God’s gracious patience toward human frailty.
Chapters
Have you ever wondered, is this just my emotions? Are these just my thoughts? Or is this the voice of the Holy Spirit? Many Christians feel confused by that question. On one hand, they don't want to just act out on their every impulse or thought, thinking it's the Holy Spirit when it's not. On the other hand, they don't want to just ignore the Holy Spirit if he is in fact speaking to them. Here's what the scripture says. Suddenly the Lord called out, Samuel! Yes, Samuel replied, what is it? He got up and ran to Eli. Here I am. Did you call me? I didn't call you, Eli replied. Go back to bed. So he did. Then the Lord called out again, Samuel! Again, Samuel got up and went to Eli. Here I am. Did you call me? I didn't call you, my son, Eli said. Go back to bed. Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. So the Lord called a 3rd time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. Here I am. Did you call me? Notice that the Holy Spirit was speaking to Samuel repeatedly. Even though Samuel didn't know it, the Holy Spirit was trying to get his attention. The Spirit, at that moment in the text, had spoken 3 times until Samuel went back and finally recognized that it was him. Here's the important takeaway. There's a difference between resisting while knowing God is speaking to you and not knowing whether or not God is speaking to you. God is gracious and understands our human frailties. We can rest in this: God knows how to get through to us. Trust not in your ability to hear the Holy Spirit, but in the Holy Spirit's ability to make himself heard.
