All Your heart

10. June 2009 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

Today, we are finishing the second part of Samuel’s speech.   

Let’s look at the text:

I Samuel 11:16 ”Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the Lord to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.” 18 Then Samuel called upon the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel. 19 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.” 20 ”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. 21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

In the last part of Samuel’s speech, he gives the people a sign so that they will realize how evil it was for them to ask for a king.  The sign is that Samuel will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain and so as it say it so it happened that same day and all the people stood in awe of Samuel and the Lord.

The people were terrified and Samuel instructed them not to be afraid because if they served God with all their heart from this day forward, everything would be alright. 

Samuel closes with saying: “but be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”  This is a simple instruction, yet it is difficult.  The difficult part is serve him with “all” your heart. 

All…….   WOW!!!!!!!  Do we really give him all.   What does a life look like that is serving God with all their heart.  “ALL”  wow…..

Let me just share with you what happened to me on yesterday.  I was sitting in a restaurant called cracker barrel and I was there alone for breakfast and I was reading over this text because it was my scripture that I was meditating on for the day.  I began to ask God a series of questions in my head.   I started saying what does it really look like to serve God with all my heart.   Can I do it?  Am I doing it?   So many distractions God, can I really give you “all” my heart?   All…?   I was just going back and forth in my head and I heard a voice in my head say: “read it again.”   I read it again and this time I focused on:  “consider what great things he has done for you.”   I got so convicted.   I started thinking and it was like I could hear God dialoging with me back and forth in my head telling me why want you give me “all” your heart, for everything that you really desire in life, I am the only one that can give them to you.  The other things are just temporal and you always come back to me and seek the lifestyle that I have ordained for you so what is really your issue with giving me all your heart.  What really makes you happy comes from me.      I started crying in that restaurant.  I asked the waitress for some more napkins and I thought about my life and where I am and I looked inside my heart and I said:  God, I can do better.   I really can.    

When, I tell you that every since that moment, I have been on fire for God in a way that I have never experienced before.  I’m going for the glory.   I’m giving him “all” my heart.   I am so excited.  I started doing a self analysis of areas that I am procrastanating in and areas that I have gotten complacent in and I am getting it together.  God’s word has motivated me so.   I am so excited.  Ohhhhhhh….. the word of God…  it is just so amazing.   It really is.   Simply amazing…..

I really hope this scripture has blessed you and excited you and motivated you as it did me.   Let’s go for the glory.    The weight, the power, the force ….. Let’s experience this abundant life that Jesus came to give us and let’s learn that no matter what situation we’re in, it is a learning experience, it is not designed to destroy us but strengthen us and it will blow over really, really soon.   God does work all things together for our good.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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