The Lord's word was rare and visions not widely known in certain times - this does not mean God is absent

When reading parts of the Bible, it feels like on some occasions God spoke very clearly. Sometimes we can feel discouraged that we don't hear Him so clearly today. As an aside, a huge part of this is that we are not listening, even if we think we are. To listen, we have to take the time to get to know God and to hear His voice, and how many of us do that? 

But getting back to the title of this post, there are times in history where the Lord's word was rare and visions were not widely known, as shown in the Bible verse below. Does this resonate with you about the situation we see today?

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

1 Samuel 3: 1

You may like to read the full verse in the Bible - this is where Samuel receives instruction from God. Yet at first neither he nor the priest Eli realize the voice is from God, because it was rare to hear from God in those days.

We don't know precisely why it was rare to hear God's word in those days - was it because people had stopped listening for His word? Or was it for some other reason? Regardless of the cause of it, this situation mirrors some of what we are seeing today. It is true that there are some people today who hear God's voice extraordinarily clearly, but for most of us it is not always easy to hear God.

But the point I'm making here is that even if someone hasn't heard God's voice, this does not mean God is absent or does not exist. Have you ever been in a situation where loud ambient noise made it difficult to hear something your friend was saying to you? I'm sure we've all been in that situation. Yet you wouldn't for a minute suggest that the lack ability to hear him or her is because your friend doesn't exist, right? 

If you feel that the Lord's word is rare and visions are not widely known, it's a sign we need to seek Him more. It's not a sign that He is absent.

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