Good morning!
1st Samuel chapter 12.
God wanted to be the king of Israel. He wanted to be the king of their hearts. But when things got very difficult they panicked and cried out for a human King verses trusting God.
God wants to be the Lord of our lives, the king of our hearts. But just like the Israelites we panic when things get tough and we turn away from the Lord and no longer trust him but rather try and take matters in our own hands or we turn to other things or other people to take care of us. We push God out of our lives. Yes we still believe in him and we may even still go to church but he's not the king of our hearts.
Lord, when things get tough help me to keep you number one and keep praying and trusting you to meet my panicked needs. Bring people in my life who can come alongside and help but let me not put my trust in man but in you realizing you will send people and resources my way to help me in my time of need. That way you get all the glory and not me or anyone else.
I was encouraged by reading this chapter today. Verse 20 stuck out to me the most.
And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.”
The people acknowledged that they had sinned against the Lord by asking for a human king. They had made a big mistake. We all mess up sometimes, but God offers us hope. As I’ve seen somewhere before, He can turn our MESS into His MESSAGE. Even though we may fail, we must not give up, but keep on following the Lord. He is faithful. He offers forgiveness and He never forsakes us.
We read this in Hebrews 13:5-6. “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
I never really thought about that … failing to pray for someone is a sin? Samuel seemed to think so (v23). Ephesians 6:18 reaffirms this need to pray constantly for others.
Twice in his farewell speech (v12 & v24), Samuel reminds the people to take time consider the great things God had done for them. What great advice. I want to take more time to recall and appreciate what God has done already in my life.
I agree with both of you Jim and Jeanine. Jim, those words of Samuel stick out to me as well, look at all the evil I have done in my life, yet God still loves me. God still wants me. God still wants me to turn towards Him and serve Him with all my heart. Samuel reminds the people of how God has delivered all of their ancestors, even after they too sinned again God. It has been happening for centuries! Gods people turning away from Him, no longer keeping Him the King of their hearts. Yet when we are ready, He comes back into our life and shows us mercy and grace.