Stick with God


1 Samuel 12:19-25
19 And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.”
20 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.
21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.
22 For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for Himself.
23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.
24 Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things He has done for you.
25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

Samuel wraps up the bulk of his ministry to Israel with a promise to continue to pray for them, for to do otherwise would be a sin for him. He announces to them that although they have sinned in seeking a human king, the Lord has not forsaken them and will continue to care for them as His people. And finally he ends with a warning; if you still behave wickedly God will sweep you away along with your new king. It’s pretty simple and straightforward. For reasons that are probably embedded in our sinful and self-centered pride, we don’t do simple very well. Staying on the path that God lays before us is so very difficult. Our pride always causes us to think we have a better plan or a way that will work out to our advantage. We don’t trust that God’s way is always best. In fact, sometimes we are actually fearful that God will not take care of us the way we want Him to and so we go our own way. Simply following God is difficult.

While this next suggestion is so incredibly obvious and simple, it is so very difficult to perform. Daily, first thing in the morning, commit your way to the Lord. Instead of hitting the ground running in the morning, take just a moment to seek God’s direction for the day. This is a habit that can be formed but that is also easily derailed. It is a habit that can have life altering effects, but that is so easily dropped. I confess that while I generally make the effort, if the day ahead is terribly busy, I can be pushed off the path by my own agenda. Suddenly, sometime mid-morning I will realize I am trotting down the road all by myself. And my effectiveness is showing the strain. But – and here’s the good news. In that moment, if I turn back to the Lord and readjust my focus, everything falls into place, where it belongs. (Sorry to say, some days that epiphanious event doesn’t happen until late in the afternoon or even at all!) It is so simple and so difficult.

So today we take comfort from the words of Samuel to the people. God is forgiving and constantly in restoration mode. We can faithfully follow Him, or we can walk our own way. The proof of our direction will be born out in the fruit that we bear. Following God leads to godly fruit; following our own nose leads to struggle and pain. Which will it be?

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