Share What You've Been Shown

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, ‘This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.’ . . . Samuel said to Saul . . . ‘stay here for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.’”—1 Samuel 9:17–27 (NIV)

The Book of 1 Samuel has a very clear narrative structure. We can imagine the story that it tells us as a chain consisting of three separate links. Each link represents a main character who moves the narrative forward. Up to this point in the story, we’ve been introduced to the first of these two links, Samuel and Saul. But it’s here in the last half of the ninth chapter that these first two chain links actually interlink.

This happens as Saul, who’s on a quest to find his father’s lost donkey’s, makes his way to the town where Samuel lives. Saul had heard about Samuel’s reputation as a prophet and figured he might as well see if he could provide any divine direction to locate his wayward donkeys. Meanwhile, Samuel is being prepared by the Lord, who tells him he’s to identify and anoint the man who has been chosen to lead the people of Israel as their inaugural king.

They converge here at this point as Saul wanders into Samuel’s field of vision. As the prophet sees Saul coming towards him, the Lord reveals to Samuel, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.” All of this eventually leads to Samuel telling Saul something that undoubtedly shocked him: “Stay here for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.” Samuel reveals the details of God’s plan for Saul’s life in the next chapter. But before we get to that, we must emphasize the point that Samuel was committed to sharing what God had shown him with Saul.

Now, this might not seem like a profound point at first, but when you really think about it, this simple little principle of sharing what God shows you is a fundamental basis of the Christian life! Why are we here? What purpose does God have for our lives? Well, the answer is that our lives both on this side and on the other side of eternity are to glorify God in all things. To know Him for ourselves, yes, but to also make Him known as we bear witness to who He is, what He’s done, and what He’s going to do.

He shows us all of these things as we’re drawn deeper and deeper into an intimate spiritual relationship with Him. Like Samuel, we cultivate a familiarity with the Father’s voice and become accustomed to what it’s like as He reveals more and more of Himself to us. By His Word and by His Spirit, we get filled fuller and fuller with the surpassing knowledge of the things of God. We’re continuously shown who He is, what He’s done, and even what He’s going to do!

But it doesn’t just end there. We aren’t just meant to store this up for ourselves. We’re to share what God brings our way with others. The confused co-worker, the despairing relative, the anxious neighbor . . . it’s our mission and ministry to hand off the beautiful truths we know about the Lord to them. And in doing so, we fulfill that primary purpose of glorifying Him, of pointing people past the maddening maze of this world to the One who can guide them and give rest to their souls.

Pause: What example does Samuel set here for every single follower of Christ?

Practice: Consider how your life resembles this dynamic of being shown and of sharing and how might you grow in it.

Pray: Lord, thank You for being a God who delights in revealing Yourself and Your ways with Your people. May we take advantage of Your commitment to show Yourself to us and may we be faithful to share the things You show us concerning You and Your purposes. Open doors of opportunity to do this and fill us with a love to step through those open doors. Amen.