Forever Faithful
How do we stay faithful to God when someone has ignored our advice time and time again? Steph Nickel reminds us to follow the example of Samuel, who continued to help and pray for the people of Israel, even when they were sinful.
Do Not Be Afraid
Today’s passage is taken from 1 Samuel 12:19-24:
“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 . . . 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. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake . . . 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. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.’”
This passage teaches us so much about God and about how His children should behave. Samuel had informed the people that the Lord was not pleased with their insistence that he appoint a king to rule over them. God had raised up judges, but they wanted to be just like the people around them.
When the people finally realized what they had done, they were frightened. They wanted Samuel to plead with the Lord on their behalf. Samuel’s response likely surprised them, since he had previously pronounced God’s judgment against them. He said, “Do not be afraid.”
He then went on to give them instruction. They were not to turn aside to empty things, things that would neither profit nor deliver them. Instead, they were to diligently seek the Lord and His guidance. And, of course, they were to obey.
Obviously, they didn’t have a good track record. They didn’t do anything to earn God’s favour. It wasn’t about their character. It was about His. Samuel said,
“The Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake.”
Yes, it really was all about God, as it is to this very day.
Be Faithful – Serve The Lord
And Samuel’s response to their request for him to pray for them? Let’s face it. It would have been understandable if he’d thrown up his arms and said, “Enough already! I told you what God wanted you to do and you refused. You forced my hand and made me appoint a king even though I warned you it would lead to one problem after another. I’ve had it. I will no longer seek the Lord on your behalf.”
But did Samuel say any of these things? He did not. Instead, he said it would be sinful for him to cease praying for the people. He even said he would continue to instruct them as to what was good and right.
He then went on to exhort his listeners once again. He instructed them to “fear the Lord and serve him faithfully.” They were to do so with all their heart. And they were to remember the great things He had done for them.
Lessons to Learn
There are so many lessons we can take away from this passage.
As Christians, we don’t need a go-between to approach the Lord. Even when we have sinned, we can enter His presence and thank Him that, because of Jesus’ Christ’s death and resurrection, we are forgiven. We can ask Him to help us to do better in the future. We can trust in God’s character and the fact that He will always do what is right and good—even when we mess up big time.
There are steps we can take. Not that we can earn forgiveness or right standing before God, but it is a partnership. The Scriptures make it clear that there are certain things we are supposed to do. As it says in today’s passage, we are not to turn aside from following the Lord but are to serve Him will all our heart.
Samuel repeated this last imperative twice in these few verses. He wanted his listeners to get the message. It is a message we, too, should let sink deep down into our being.
We can also learn from Samuel’s example. Is there someone who has made a poor decision despite our wise counsel? Have we given good advice only to have it ignored?
This is the case for many of us, but that doesn’t mean we get to wash our hands of the situation. Instead, with God’s help, we ought to seek to be as faithful and diligent as Samuel was. He continued to pray for the people. He continued to give them godly counsel. He continued to point them to the Lord. May we do the same.
We can—and should—teach our children these lessons. We should also remind ourselves of them often.
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Steph Nickel
Steph Beth Nickel is eclectically interested and eclectically involved. In all she does, Steph seeks to nurture and inspire. She is currently working on the first book in a nonfiction series. Nurture and Inspire LOVE is a compilation of the first devotionals she wrote for HopeStreamRadio.
Steph is a freelance writer and editor. She is the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’ award-winning memoir, Living Beyond My Circumstances, published by Castle Quay Books. Deb and Steph are working on a follow-up book.
You can visit her website, stephbethnickel.com, to learn more about her.
Visit Steph’s contributor’s page or at Steph Nickel’s Eclectic Interests.
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