How to Repay God for His Goodness

Daily Devotional – Thursday, March 9, 2023
Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.
1 Samuel 12:24 (NKJV)

Samuel’s saddest experience must have been Israel’s demand for a king. Up to this time, God’s people did not have an earthly king. He was their ruler, exercising His authority through judges like Samuel. Under this arrangement, God had exercised goodness and providence towards His people.

Spurning God’s Goodness

Now when the Israelites demanded for a king like the surrounding heathen nations, Samuel was annoyed. He felt there were rejecting him but God insisted there had actually rejected Him, their King. The Almighty allowed Israel to have a monarch but warned there would be negative consequence.

Then came the day of King Saul’s coronation. Samuel reminded the people that they had sinned in asking for an earthly king. God had delivered them from Egypt and from Canaanite nations in the past, yet they had no earthly king. They were now repaying His goodness by spurning His sovereignty over them.

Fear the Lord and Serve Him

On realizing how ungrateful and wicked they had become, the Israelites pleaded with 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.” (1 Samuel 12:19). I His mercy, God listened and pardoned His people.

Nevertheless, He urged them though Samuel, “Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.” (1 Samuel 12:24). In essence, if the Israelites would reflect on the unconditional goodness of God towards them (despite their rebelliousness), they would reverence and serve Him wholeheartedly.

How to Repay the Goodness of the Lord

If God treated us according to our sinfulness, how many of us would stand? Are we not as guilty as the Israelites of forsaking God and turning to humans beings for help? How often have we replaced God as our Lord with friends, spouses, children, work, drugs and greed? In contrast, how often does God forgive us, yet we do not deserve His compassion?

God is telling us, “I know this is the umpteenth time you have rebelled against me. Come back home as you are. My compassion is enough to wash away your sins and to restore you. All I ask for is that you turn away from your evil and serve me. The only way you can repay My goodness is to serve Me unreservedly.”

Prayer
Lord Jesus, because You have been good to me, an underserving sinner, I will serve You in truth with all my heart