1 Samuel 10-13
A Call to Faithfulness

After anointing King Saul for his new kingdom role, chapter 12 of 1 Samuel gives us what could be called Samuel's farewell address. He stands before the people an old man who had spent himself in their service. He testified he had done nothing wrong in his dealing with them, and they quickly agreed with him. He then spoke of their history and how the LORD had always been there for them, sending leaders in times of need. He convicted them of their sin of willfulness and rebellion, and the people, knowing he was right, could only agree with everything spoken. They said, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king" (12:19).

Lovingly, Samuel responded, "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, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for himself. 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" (12:20-23).

We all fail God repeatedly in our lives. It is right for us, when we understand this, to be broken with our sinful ways. We add to "all our sins" other evils. What hope can we possibly have? The same hope Samuel gave the Israelites then-we have a gracious and merciful God who longs to forgive us and save us. God calls on us to "not be afraid." Certainly we ought to have a degree of fear, or a healthy respect, for God. But, fear can limit and even paralyze us; it gets in the way of our spiritual service, which is what God wants from us. That is why He is always so willing to forgive, because His greatest desire is not to punish us, but to use us in His plan. So, when we sin and are genuinely sorry for that sin, God doesn't want us to cower from Him, but to come to Him seeking His forgiveness. When we do so and are forgiven, God has put all of our sins behind us and is ready for us to move on in usefulness. Paul put it like this, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14).

When we repent of our sins, God wants us to move ahead, not become trapped in our past failings. Why can we do this? Because He has moved past it! When we do this, "the LORD will not forsake His people." When we are confident of this truth, it becomes easier to "serve the LORD with all" our hearts. We serve Him with extreme gratitude for His kind mercy. We turn away from "empty things" that can never profit or deliver as our great God can. And, we once again can serve Him, which is what He wants more than anything else.