COP30 - 12 November 2025
God's voice is persistent
COP30 - 12 November 2025
God's voice is persistent
Embedded Files
God's voice is persistent
Silence was not built to be filled by noise, for when we do we forfeit what we would have heard had it been left silent.
(Craig D. Lounsbrough)
Reading
Reading
1 Samuel 3: 1-10 (VOICE)
1 Samuel 3: 1-10 (VOICE)
1 The boy Samuel continued to serve the Eternal One under the guidance of Eli. In those days, messages from the Eternal were rare, and sacred dreams or visions were given to very few.
2 Eli, who was very old, had become almost blind. He was lying in his room; 3 it was late at night but before dawn as the lamp of God still burned. Samuel was resting in the house of the Eternal One, where the covenant chest of the True God was located, and he heard a voice.
Eternal One: 4 Samuel! Samuel!
Samuel: Here I am! 5 (running to Eli) I heard you calling; here I am!
Eli: I did not call you, my son. Go back, and lie down.
So Samuel went back to bed. 6 But the Eternal called him again.
Eternal One: Samuel!
Samuel (running to Eli): I heard you calling; here I am!
Eli: No, I did not call you, my son. Go back, and lie down. I need my rest.
7 Samuel did not recognize the voice of the Eternal One, for the word of the Eternal had not been revealed to Samuel yet. So Samuel went back again to his bed. 8 And the Eternal One called him a third time.
Samuel (running to Eli): I know you called me; I am here!
Eli (realizing the Lord was calling Samuel): 9 Go back and lie down, my son. If the voice calls you again, I want you to say, “Speak, Eternal One. Your servant is listening.”
So Samuel went to his bed in his place and listened. 10 Then the Eternal One came into his presence as before.
Eternal One: Samuel! Samuel!
Samuel: Speak, Eternal One. Your servant is listening.
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Reflection
Reflection
If you're like us, most of you reading this have never heard God speak audibly i.e. with your ears, and we're pretty sure that you don't know many (if any) people who have. Discerning God's will in a situation would be so much easier if we could 'physically’ hear his voice instead of relying on the nuanced stirrings of inner conviction. For a start, if he actually enunciated real words there's a chance that other people would also hear him, and misunderstandings would be less likely to arise between us… or would they?
There are three characters in today's reading: God, Samuel and Eli, and we learn something from each of them about hearing God's voice. Here are our observations:
God decides the message and the recipient of the message and both may be unexpected to us. We live lives that are defined by hierarchical structures, both inside and outside the church, and whilst we are called to respect these, God often communicates outside of them. We should be open to ‘hearing’ from God via unexpected people... including ourselves.
God was gentle but persistent. He kept calling until Samuel knew how to respond. If God has something to say to us he will keep trying to attract our attention. Is there a persistent internal 'nagging' that we should be paying attention to?
After Eli had turned Samuel away the first time it would have been easy for Samuel to have ignored God's voice the second time, dismissing it as a mis-hearing. But he didn't. He returned to Eli a second time, and a third. Sometimes we need to be persistent in our efforts to discern God's word.
Eli plays a really important role in this story. He already knew that the priestly line would be taken from his family so the significance of God speaking to Samuel was probably not lost on him. But he remained true to the mentoring role that had been entrusted to him. We might not always be the person that God speaks to in a situation, but we may be the ideal person to help someone else discern the voice of God calling them, particularly if we can step outside of our own concerns and prejudices for a while.
For space and time reasons we finished today's reading at verse 10. But had we continued, we would have learned that God's message to Samuel was a judgement against Eli's sons and Eli's priestly line, and Samuel couldn't escape relaying the message to Eli. This was the first time Samuel heard God's voice and then spoke his word, a pattern that was to define the rest of his life. It may be difficult, but hearing God's voice often goes hand-in-hand with action.
Response
Response
For most of us, hearing God's voice means 'listening' to a nuanced nudge inside us which can be easily drowned out by the busyness of life and the noise of the world around us. If you think, as we do, that God has something to say to each of us about our individual role in caring for his creation, and for the most vulnerable in our world, then set aside some time today to be quiet and to listen out for that inner voice, to feel that nudge. This is not a call to activism, but it may be a small step towards an action that has your name on it.
Today at COP30
Today at COP30
Today is the first day of two considering the themes of heath, jobs, education, culture, justice and human rights, information integrity, global ethical stocktake and workers. We consider jobs and workers today under the heading of just transitions.
If Callum and his mates are highly skilled, highly paid engineers on a Scottish off-shore oil drilling rig, what happens when (if) the Scottish Parliament, driven by concerns about climate change, stops awarding licenses for oil extraction? Sure, they’ll get another job, but if it’s anything like the coal mine closures in England in the 1980s they might think the new job is just rubbish. Callum likes working away from home for big bucks, doing physical work with an element of risk and being moved from site to site by helicopter. There ought to be lots of fairly similar work in off-shore wind farms, or perhaps in marine nature conservation. But the re-training programs, and the scale-up for those sectors will have to be in place. There is hope. According to Ireland’s National Economic and Social Council in 2020: “The Scottish Just Transition Commission appears to be the only current example of a economy-wide transition being put into place”
COP30 Website
UN Climate Change COP30 Website
Prayer
Prayer
God of generations, speak over me today the unending kindness of your love. Free me from my hurried heartaches, deliver me from my anxious thoughts and be with me in the wondrous ordinary.
I pray for wisdom for all those who have a voice at this COP, that God will give them strength and courage to speak truth to power and to stand up for justice. I ask you for excellent practical outcomes, and that words will become actions, implemented quickly, efficiently and effectively.
From Lectio365 (19 Aug 2025) and tearfund
Alison has repaired instead of replacing
Alison has repaired instead of replacing
When things break, try fixing them instead of replacing them. Find your local Men's Shed who fix things for the price of parts and a donation. The Men's Shed at Newhaven fixed my breadmaker which was beyond the YouTube suggestions and it is now working again. I am delighted - one less item consigned to landfill, I have supported a local charity and have a working breadmaker.
You could also consider borrowing rather than buying something. If you live in Edinburgh there are a number of Tool Libraries where you can borrow a tool rather than buying one.
And of course, it is always good to support your local library or charity shop if you are looking for an actual book to read. I am now converted to no books and use my kindle (other options available!) for reading. There are pros and cons of course, with neither option being carbon neutral!
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