Samuel replied, “Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from the LORD. Instead, worship the LORD with all your heart. Don’t turn away to follow worthless things that can’t profit or deliver you; they are worthless. 1 Samuel 12:20-21
The people of Israel had a habit of whining, complaining, sinning, repenting, being rescued by God and repeating this pattern over and over again. In this situation, it’s no different. They wanted a king. They had gone for years without a king but everybody else had a king and they wanted a king. In Samuel’s final public speech, he tells them God is going to give them what they are asking for. Be careful when you are in this position and you have asked for something against God’s will. He just may give it to you and then you will really have a problem.
When Samuel is chastising them for the evil they have done, he tells them the LORD will send down thunder and rain and the LORD sends down thunder and rain. This causes them to be afraid of both God and Samuel. They realize now that God is not happy with them. But, I love what Samuel tells them in our scripture passage. He tells them not to turn away from God just because God is not pleased with them, but to dig in deeper. He tells them to love the LORD with all their heart and not to follow worthless things.
Have you ever been on a diet and been following along carefully and doing well and all of a sudden you find yourself at a birthday party? You promised you would be good, but there is cake and maybe even ice cream and before you know it, you are feasting on these wonderful, sweet treats. You feel like a failure. So, instead of joying this scrumptious treat and resuming your good behavior, you eat more and more and decide what’s the use? We’ve all been there, done that and got the t-shirt, right? We mess up once and figure we may as well keep going with our errant behavior.
Samuel is warning them not to do this. Now more than ever they need to turn to the LORD. They need to follow Him. If they don’t do this, they will find themselves following worthless pursuits. We know that the devil is always lurking looking for the perfect opportunity to swoop in and take control (1 Peter 5:8). We know that if we give him one tiny crack he will bust in there. We must not let him do this. We must not give up even when we mess up. We know that all of us sin, it’s human nature (Romans 3:23). But, we can’t let this deter us from picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off and following God. We must keep on keeping on even when the going gets tough.
We may suffer consequences, but God is there for us. We must keep doing what we know is right. Maybe you have messed up big time and you feel that all is lost, but know that it’s not too late to turn to God. Seek Him with all your heart, turn from your evil ways, confess your sin to Him and repent and He will forgive you (2 Chronicles 7:14). The devil will try to convince you that it’s no use. He will try to convince you that you may as well just give up and come on over to his side. Don’t listen to that garbage. God created us to be in fellowship with Him. He knows we are going to mess up before we mess up. He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
If you have messed up big time and feel that it’s hopeless, know this is just the devil talking to you. Know that the devil is not only a liar, but the father of all lies (John 8:44). We should never fall for his lies and manipulations.
Turn to God today, seek Him with all your heart. He is there waiting with open arms. There is nothing we can do to separate ourselves from His love (Romans 8:28). No matter how bad you may have messed up, don’t give up. Just give it all over to Him. He can turn your mess into your message.
Have a great day!