1 Samuel 3:7 (NKJV)

“(Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)”

Here was an irony. Samuel had been ministering to the Lord for years, and was busy for the Lord, but “did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.” Everyone who came to Samuel must have thought that he knew the Lord because he was serving the Lord. Everyone who saw Samuel must have felt that he had the word of God because, after all, he was a priest of God. But alas, neither of these was true. Samuel neither knew the Lord nor did he know the Word of the Lord. He was simply going through the routine of ministry work, without any vital connection with the God of the work. And so it is with many of us.

We are busy for God, but we do not have that “deep connect” with God. We are busy doing stuff for God, but we have not had an experience of God. The irony of life is that it is possible to serve God and not know God. Many people are actively serving God, but they have no “spirit connection” with God. This is not God’s will for us in Christ. Jesus calls us to come to the place of knowing Him first before serving Him. It is futile to spend all your life working for God, and He does not know you or recognize your labors. Let’s stop all the vigorous ministry activities and good charity works. Let’s stop a while and ponder a bit. How deep is our heart’s connection with God? Has God been speaking to us directly of late? Are we sure we know Him well enough to be serving Him? If not, we need to stop all things and lay the right foundations with God, lest we would have spent all our lives running in vain.