1 Samuel 12

And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves." Then Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.

(1Sa 12:19-22)

I love verse 22. What a powerful truth, THE LORD WILL NOT FORSAKE HIS PEOPLE. We falter, we fall, we fail… yet the Lord will not forsake us. Why not? If I were in God’s shoes I would have given up on these people long ago, letting them face the full weight of their decisions, writing them of as hopeless causes. Praise God He does not do that! I am no different than these people, I have sold God out so many times, and added to my sins this same sin; allowing something else to rule me than the LORD.

Again I ask you, why doesn’t God forsake his wayward sons and daughters? The verses here tell us that it is for “His great name’s sake”. The world knew that Israel was a nation born because of a miraculous work of God. They had seen and heard all of the great things God had done, driving out nations before the children of Israel, and establishing them in the land. If he abandoned them now, the word on the street would sound something like, “maybe YHWH wasn’t so powerful after all, Israel rose and fell just like everybody else…” Even when they went into captivity later on in their existence, God always left a remnant. God is forever faithful because He wants the world to know who He is, and what He is like.

So when we find ourselves in a place where we have sinned against the Lord, and our hearts are broken, and we feel as if God could never love us again, let us take heart. The Lord speaking through Samuel says, “My children DO NOT BE AFRAID”. His love for us has not changed; He still takes pleasure in calling us His children. His love never changes; it is the same day in and out. Our response (as laid out in verse 20) should be:

• Acknowledge that we have sinned
• Don’t let that sin turn us out of the way we should go… confess and repent
• Serve the Lord with all of our heart

Outside of the Lord, we have nothing but emptiness. His arms are open; we need to remember that. So, no matter where you may find yourself today, THE LORD HAS NOT FORSAKEN YOU. I pray each one of us would find ourselves resolved to follow the Lord wherever He leads, and serve Him with gladness, knowing his love is UNCONDITIONAL.