Scripture: 1 Samuel 11-12.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

1 Samuel 12:23-25 (NLT)

23 “As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. 25 But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I feel like too often we tend to write people off our books, personally, if they chose someone else over us for a position, or if they chose someone else’s idea over ours. Examples I can think of: a). When a pastor leaves a church under pressure from the congregation; b). When the church decides to try another leader in a position that we have held for a while, or c). When we see a new leader doing well in a position that we previously struggled in. I believe that we can see that each of these scenarios point to the thought that ‘it’s all about me/us’, when we act in this fashion. In this passage of scripture Samuel explains to the people that they have gone about getting a new leader in a very selfish way, instead of praying to God and totally depending on Him to give them the right leader at the right time. What is commendable here, and what taught me a lesson here, is the way in with Samuel handled his exit. Although he proved to the people that God was displeased with the way they handled getting a new king, yet because of his total commitment to God, he knew that he couldn’t just slip totally out of the lives of the people. He promised that he would continue to pray for them, and that he would continue to teach them what is right and wrong. Another admiral thing that he reminded them was that as they become excited about their future with their new king, never to forget their past blessings. He also took one last opportunity to warn them that their continued sin will lead to their destruction and that of their new king. My church is planning our annual homecoming celebration, never forget our past! We are also praying towards God’s leadership in finding a new pastor to lead us, and if we find the best that God could offer us at this time, we must never forget our past blessings and lessons learned. Samuel showed us how to exit gracefully from leadership in a particular role and allow our successor to lead as God directs, because it is HIS work that must continue, not a particular outgoing leader, after all it’s not about me or you, it is all about God and our future destination with Him.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, I pray for the boldness of Samuel, and the sincerity he had in his work for you and for seeing Your work continue unhindered, even under a new leader. He reminded me that it’s not all about me. It’s not all about a certain leader, but it’s all about You and Your kingdom. Please help me to never place myself in a position where I might tend to feel like Your work might fall apart if I leave a certain position, or if You show us that another brother is better equipped to serve in a position that I may hold, for all of this is unimportant in the final analysis. What is important is that I stay so closely in tuned with You and Your will for my life and the life of the church in which I serve, that You will have the freedom to work, whether through me or any other leader You may choose to bless us with in any manmade positions of the church today. The end result is that You be lifted up in all that we do, that Your presence and power never be hindered by anyone, and that we, Your people, clean up our act, stop sinning, and serve You faithfully in whatever we do as we proclaim Your Word.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
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