Trust and Obey

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

TRUST AND OBEY

1 Samuel 12:6-25

6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. 7 Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers. 8 "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 "But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10 They cried out to the LORD and said, 'We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.' 11 Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely. 12 "But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us'-even though the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God — good! 15 But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. 16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king." 18 Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel. 19 The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king." 20 "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."

NIV

This is a lot to take into consideration, but we just cannot break this warning of Samuel to the people who wanted a king so they could be like all the other nations. Samuel told them the history of how the LORD kept saving them whenever they found themselves in trouble and cried out to the LORD for help. Over and over again, their forefathers kept forsaking the LORD, and then trouble would come upon them; they would turn to the LORD, and He would deliver them. They were not always faithful to the LORD, but he is always faithful. Of course, the fact that the Lord is always faithful is a good lesson to keep in our hearts, yet Samuel also warns them about looking to useless idols, but instead to serve the Lord with all their heart. This is another great lesson we should keep deep within our souls. We have pondered on this command of Jesus about loving the Lord with all our mind, soul, spirit, and strength. We have considered whether we could somehow or sometimes have a divided heart. We confess that we love the Lord with our whole heart, yet do we glance, even stare at the things or the philosophies of this world. Do we truly trust the Lord to provide all our needs, and at the same time, look for financial security from the world’s system? The word of God has given us too many examples, parables, or stories to demonstrate what happened to men who served money more than the Lord. Israel, wanted to be like everyone else by having a king even though Samuel warned them about how much the king would take from them, while the Lord was always giving to them. When Samuel told them he would ask the LORD for a storm and it happened, they were in awe of the LORD and Samuel. How can we not be in awe of our God, for he has done so much for us throughout the years? We have received one blessing after another, yet we are not worthy of the faithfulness he has demonstrated to us. When we read about how the children of Israel turned to other gods over and over again, yet the Lord delivered them so they could live securely. He is the only security we will ever need. However, do we look to him for eternal security, but look to the world for our temporary security? When we look at the warning of Samuel about serving the Lord faithfully with our whole heart, but if we persist in doing evil, which means trusting in the world’s way, or looking to useless idols, we may well be swept away. No, there is no other way. When we walk with the Lord, in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way; while we do his good will, he abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.