Fear Him, Serve Him will all your Heart and Consider the great things He has done for you!

This morning I was continuing reading in 1 Samuel. I tend to read several things at once but I really felt that this morning 1 Samuel is where I needed to be. Two responses this morning to God's call are evident in the book of 1 Samuel. Samuel is called by God as I wrote about before but then Saul has been called to King of Israel and is referred to as "God's anointed one"However, their responses to their call were very different. Their hearts were very different.

Saul when announced King did not have faith in God's plan and when Israel asked where their King was the Lord said "Behold he has hidden himself among the baggage (1 Samuel 10:22).  How often is this our response? God calls and we run. God anointes us and we hide?

Samuel, however in his farewell address shows us He is a man of integrity. He encourages the response that Israel must have in 12:14 --


"If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord and if but you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God it will be well. "

What a promise and what truth!!  Fear the Lord and obey Him and things will go well. That's an understatement. This will go more than well things will go FANTASTIC not because circumstances will be great but you will have joy.  He goes on to say in verse 16 "Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes." It's a further testament to what Saul didn't see. God gives us love and favor and has a plan and we only need to STAND STILL AND SEE. How beautiful!?

If that wasn't enough Samuel sums it up in 20-25 exactly what we are called to be :

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. ²¹And do not turn aside after²² 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. ²³Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you,²⁴ Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. ²⁵But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king." empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. you shall be swept away,

What an encourager Samuel is! He comforts the people telling them to not be afraid. The same comfort we need all take in that our Lord is a redeemer and no matter what you have done god is bigger than your sins. He will wash you white as snow in His blood if you only let Him and give you new life and life more abundantly. He comforts and then calls them to run after God. This next part is beautiful "far be it for me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you."  We are called to pray without ceasing and given that the great commission calls us to love God and love his people I would argue Samuel just dropped a bomb of truth on Israel in one small sentence. One small call to prayer that the church must take and run with. If Samuel was excited about the Lord shoudln't we be more excited because we are saved by the blood of Jesus? We do not have to sacrifice He WAS the sacrifice. 

Samuel then tells us what to do --Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.(24). -- That's it. Thats what the God of the old testament wanted and that SAME GOD still wants us to simply fear Him, serve Him with all our hearts and consider the great love and care He has for us. He calls us to not chance after the empty things. The Idols. The Addictions. The Brokenness. The Sin. simply stop and fear the Lord, serve Him and consider all He has done for you. More over consider all the great He promises all over the new testament. If all the promises and prophecy of the old testament came true and everything about Jesus came true then why do we not trust that His promises for our hope and future and eternal life are SOLID. I find it perfect that Samuel didn't say "Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully.  He said WITH ALL YOUR HEART. It brings us back to the idea that God wants nothing from you but EVERYTHING. You honor Him or Despise Him, your FOR Him or AGAINST Him, there is no middle ground. Luke warm will NOT be enough. We are called to RUN with everything we have toward Him and in ALL we do bring Him Glory and praise.

Sometimes that is hard. Some moments hurt and break us and scare us but we have a God that is bigger than all of that. A powerful God that is over all. I am thankful for that promise. Last night before our prayer gathering one of my very best friends called me to tell me she internally bleeding, and needs further testing but it has to wait a week, despite she is already anemic due to to blood loss. (this means she has lost a significant amount). It's sad to me because this girl means a ton to me, but encouraging to know God has a plan. At about that exact same moment I got an e-mail that friend of mine had gotten a job and the impact the 30 minutes a day has had on Him. A moment of joy! Happening simultaneously for a moment shocked me. Do I cry? Do I thank Him? both? Here's what I felt God telling me --- In all circumstances I am to praise. In all circumstances I am to be thankful.  His name is stronger than any pain we could ever receive.  So I'll be in prayer for her but trust that God has a bigger plan. I'll thank Him for the good and the bad. I'll do as Samuel says and
-Fear Him
-Serve Him
- and with all my heart consider the great things He has done for me and my life.

He blesses me more than I could ever be thankful for and I'm continually thanking Him for his favor that I DO NOT DESERVE.


I am praying for you and your pursuit of God and your pursuit of the challenge. I am praying that God show up in a big way and that He continue to renew my heart each day to better resemble His. I pray He uses my hands and my feet that He made for his work. That I not be just a hearer of this word from this morning but a doer. I pray the same for you that we not be content with anything less than wholehearted abandon for the Lord. If I've learned anything in this week it's that I do not need anything at all but God and His presence and thus I do not need to pray for any situation but rather just focus on Him and walk in His grace for and God will bless that. <3

Be Samuel this week and not Saul. Don't hide from God but RUN toward Him and his calling for you <3