Feb
19
Written by:
Route 365
2/19/2010 5:00 AM
written by Sara Albert
I like to think I’m a pretty patient person. To people who know me well, they may say I’m patient to a fault. But my patience is nothing compared to that demonstrated by my loving God. You might say He has the patience of a saint, but I’m fairly certain being God of the universe trumps sainthood any day. After the ark had been returned to them, it took the Israelites twenty years to get to the point where they were only serving the Lord. It took a long time for them to recognize the importance of the ark, and all the while God patiently waited for them to return to Him. Under Samuel’s lead, the wheels were set in motion and the nation’s revival of faith was underway. They poured out water before God as a public confession and symbol of washing their sins away, and as they prepared a sacrificial lamb the Philistines prepared to attack again. The Israelites panicked but were fervent in their prayers for protection, and in another demonstration of His ultimate power God sent an impressive thunderstorm to stop the attack. Both the Israelites and Philistines could see God’s hand at work, resulting in a peaceful resolution and land returned to their rightful people.
Despite their slowness to respond to God, I really have been given some great pointers about my faith from the Israelites. They were required to rid themselves of foreign gods (v. 3) before committing to the one true God. What are the distractions and modern day foreign gods that that hold me back in my relationship with the Lord? How can I work to change the importance of those things in my life? The only way to have a real relationship with God is to put Him first. All the time. End of sentence. And even though it took the Israelites quite some time to come back to God, He didn’t abandon them. He could have gotten really angry and gone away. Our human nature might have driven us to do just that. But God didn’t. He waited patiently for them to be ready to come back to Him, and when they did they showed us that committing to God is the only way to be saved. We are so blessed that our God loves us enough to never leave us, even in the times when we walk away from Him. Is He waiting for you? So what are you waiting for?
Your Fellow Traveler,
Sara
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1 comment(s) so far...
Re: 1 Samuel 7.2b-17 : God’s Patience
God's patience is one of His characteristics that I am the most thankful for. It is hard for me to understand why He is so patient with me when I repeat the same mistakes and sins over and over again in my life before I finally learn the lessons He is trying to teach me.
A small group friend used to often quote the verse, "Are you still so dull?" when she realized that she was taking a long time to learn something God wanted her to learn. I often feel that way and find myself quoting that same verse and marveling at the God of love who is patient and gentle with me even when I am "still so dull".
Thank you, Sara, for a week of reflections that helped me see much better the lessons God is trying to teach me through 1 Samuel.
By Ann Lincoln on
2/22/2010 11:31 AM
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