I Samuel 16:8
‘Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.”’
Samuel was sent on a mission to choose the next king. He wasn't told who it would be. He knew it would be one of Jesse's sons. So, banquet was held. At some point the choosing process began. It was ordered in such a way that the oldest passed through all the way to the youngest. During the process of passing, Samuel got the impression who it would be. Today's passage has the second son passing through. Somehow Samuel knew it wasn't him.
I wanted to take this opportunity to focus on how the Lord speaks to us. He doesn't speak audibly. The primary way He speaks is through His Word, the bible. It's the general message sent to us all. Through it we learn of God, sin, humanity, the fall, redemption and how the Lord achieved it, how we are to accept it, how a believer is to live, the second coming, heaven, hell and eternity. While there is some variation in christianity, among the essentials there is unity.
Does the Lord speak to us individually? While not audibly, the bible seems to say yes. In Psalm 139:23,24, has David asking God to point out difficult parts of himself; "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way." The implication is that God will do that.
How would the Lord communicate to us? Romans 8:15,16 says, "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God." The last part answers that question, "His Spirit testifies to our spirit". The word testify is to communicate. It's a language of the spirit.
When we receive Christ, our sins are forgiven and the Holy Spirit comes in us. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was miraculously torn in two. The veil was the separation of two spaces; the place where God dwelled and the other parts were for people. The tearing of the veil represented that God and humanity could share the same place. That's how the Holy Spirit can be in us.
The indwelling of the Spirit is why we were created. The Lord made Adam and Eve to be with Him. Sin made the division. Jesus' death bridged the gap for us to be with Him. When we accept Christ, our difficulty with sin and God is over. When Jesus confronted Paul the apostle before he became a christian, Jesus asked, "Is it hard to kick against the goads?", (Acts 26:14). The meaning is the Lord was seeking to reach Paul, but he was resisting. We did the same. When we accept Christ that battle is over. We are at peace with God. There is an actual peace that's felt.
This peace is a way that the Lord communicates with us. It reminds me of a geiger counter, those instruments that people use on the beach to search for metal. Instead of the rough rattle noise, our proximity to God produces peace. If we sin, we are turning our backs to God and the peace diminishes. When we repent the peace returns. We can also get troubled when the Lord warns us. A christian might say, "I don't have a peace about it". They have no logical reason to be wary about a decision, they are hinting that the Lord may be warning them to avoid something.
Another way that God communicates to us is through opened and closed doors. Acts 16:6,7 reports how Paul and Silas were forbidden to go in particular directions by the Lord. We don't know exactly how God did that, but it appears that their plans were frustrated. I believe the Lord can block our paths with closed doors. Pastor Buddy from Saddleback Church shared how He prays for God's intervention. "Lord, I'm going to do this. If it's a bad idea, could You tell me that somehow?" One of the ways he described God's intervention was the blocking of circumstances.
At the conclusion of this entry, I want to say that there isn't perfect agreement on the topic of God communicating to us. Some stop at His Word, others go beyond where I've stated. So there is a spectrum. I feel I've backed up with scripture may stances and I feel confident in them to share them. However, I recognize the diversity of views. While I feel the Lord communicates to us individually, those messages never contradict the bible. If it does, then it's not God.
We don't know the exact way the Lord communicated with Samuel who was to be king, but it was clear it happened. Lord, thank You that You communicate with us. You do so primarily through Your Word, but You also use Your peace and circumstances. Thank You that You use various ways to "keep us from evil".