The simple things are most precious

God never speaks to us in startling ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand and we say, "I wonder if that is God's voice?"  Isaiah said that the Lord spake to him "with a strong hand," that is, by the pressure of circumstances.  Nothing touches our lives but it is God Himself speaking.  Do we discern His hand or only mere occurrence?
Get into the habit of saying, "Speak, Lord," and life will become a romance.  Every time circumstances press, say, "Speak, Lord"; make time to listen.  Chastening is more than a means of discipline, it is meant to get me to the place of saying, "Speak, Lord."  Recall the time when God did speak to you.  Have you forgotten what He said?  Was it Luke 11:13 or was it 1 Thessalonians 5:23?  As we listen, our ear gets acute, and, like Jesus, we shall hear God all the time.
Shall I tell my "Eli" what God has shown to me?  That is where the dilemma of obedience comes in.  We disobey God by becoming amateur providences--I must shield "Eli," the best people we know.  God did not tell Samuel to tell Eli; he had to decide that for himself.  God's call to you may hurt your "Eli"; but if you try to prevent the suffering in another life, it will prove an obstruction between your soul and God.  It is at your own peril that you prevent the cutting off of the right hand or the plucking out of the eye.
Never ask the advice of another about anything God makes you decide before Him.  If you ask advice, you will nearly always side with Satan.  "Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood."
So what is God saying to me thru this message?  The obvious is that God speaks to me, that I don't always listen, that I don't always devulge what He does tell me to another, if He has told me something specific for the other, my "Eli" if you will.   But the deeper  message to me required digging into scripture, reading more than just the small line of scripture given as reference, and praying, saying "Speak, Lord," and then listening. 
The reference is 1 Samuel 3:15 but, for me to really understand I went back to Chapter 1 and read from there.  I won't go into it so that you can read it for yourself, and you can have the honor of saying "Speak, Lord" and then the privelege of listening.  What I will say is that this message, among many of late, just confirms the what and why of the pressure of circumstances that settled upon our lives most recently.  And the chastening we have gone thru, most especially speaking for myself and not my spouse, has been so much more than just discipline.  It's been the carving away of the clay, by the potters hand, to perfect the piece before Him.  Refining the features, sharpening some, smoothing others, cutting away and discarding of others, all the while speaking in ways that I could easily understand.  And all for the betterment of not just I but of those I love so dearly.
Life is becoming a romance.  For the first time since I became a Christian, since I set my foot upon the path, have I felt that romance between my soul and God.  And those are a very many years.  Some 27 to be exact.  So if you are a "seasoned" Christian, one who has lost there way, or one that has found their way back, the romance is for you.  If you are a new babe in the Lord, or a mature and wise man or woman of God, the romance is for you.  Do you hear the wooing of the Bridegroom, calling unto His bride? Come close.  Quiet thyself, be still, and know that HE....IS....GOD.   Shhhhh....He is whispering in the circumstances surrounding you, just waiting for you to say, "Speak, Lord, speak.  Your servant is listening."  Make time to listen.