PASTORS' DAILY DEVOTIONAL
Apr
11

Repentance Over Fear

John Tilton

Scripture
1 Samuel 12:19-22 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.” “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. Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.
Observation
Samuel recounted and brought to light how the Israelites dishonored the Lord God in spite of all that He had done for them. Fortunately, they recognized their sin, probably prompted by the FEAR of death. Samuel called them on their possibility of angering the Lord further by turning away from Him and turning toward other God’s or beliefs, which was a tendency of the Israelites. Samuel reminded the Israelites that God’s love would not allow Him to reject His people regardless of their sin, IF they would turn to him and serve Him. The Israelites saw their sin and contemplated running from God, and subsequently turning to other things and idols, which they thought, would save them. Yet, Samuel implored them to repent and turn to God for He would not reject His people, who were His own.
Application
We often find that like the Israelites, our fears in our lives actually are a result of sin or disobedience based on mistakes, wrong decisions and selfish pride. The first win is when we realize that our fears are often a result of where we have failed in disobedience. However, the second win is when we realize that rather then turning to the ways of the world to “fix” things or deal with challenges that come our way, that we should instead turn to God with repentance. We often look at the celebrity with the latest fad answer, the best book on a matter, infomercials or ways that acquiring money can buy us out of our situations or make us happier. Yet, we are reminded that the best solution is turning to the Lord with repentance and purity, and allowing Him to work in us and through us, being expectant based on His faithfulness that He will work all things together for our good. It is then, that we can overcome our fears due to our hope and trust in the Lord Jesus.
Prayer
Dear Lord, guide me when life’s worries and challenges come my way, often due to my sin and disobedience. When I may tend to look for solutions other then you, guide me to first turn to you and serve you, for I know that you will make my paths straight. May my repentance overshadow and resolve my fears.

Devotions for April 11

1 Samuel 11,12
1 Chronicles 1
2 Corinthians 11

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