Daily Devotional for Thursday, July 13

The Lord's Confirmation

“Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king,” (1 Samuel 12:17).

Do you like to be right; do you like to be able to say, “I told you so”? We do not have to be right all the time, but we do like it when the warnings we give to others is confirmed. Samuel had warned Israel that asking for a king was against what God wanted for them, but they did not listen to him. Even though God gave them what they wanted they still had not fully realized that they were going against God, so God confirmed Samuel’s message to them, and they greatly feared the Lord and Samuel, (1 Samuel 12:18).

I am sure that Samuel felt a little bit of satisfaction when the Lord confirmed what Samuel had prophesied to them but his work as a prophet was not finished (1 Samuel 12:23). God is constantly confirming his word and work in our lives daily. Sometimes his confirmation is in His discipline to us for not following His commands, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth,” (Hebrews 12:6), but He does this because He loves us and only wants the best for us. At other times, like here with Israel, God’s confirmation is to encourage them to fear the Lord and follow him in the future (1 Samuel 12:21-25). Confirm your trust and dependance on the Lord today, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths,” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

JUST A THOUGHT: God can either confirm your obedience or your unfaithfulness to Him and His direction; what is God trying to confirm to you?

Tim Chambers