In my previous article, I entitled it “The Foundation” because I wanted us to see within every strong Child of God, we must have a solid foundation. I split this article into two parts, because I simply had too much to say for one article. The more I study the life of Samuel, the more I’m convinced his life is an emphatic blueprint for living for God and “Finishing Well.” You see in our walk with God, it’s not how we start-it’s HOW WE FINISH! Paul likens our walk with God to a race, yet it’s not to those who are able to run the swiftest, but it’s for those who will endure to the end! There were many Judges throughout Israel that would begin with the intent of carrying out God’s divine plan, yet they never finished well. Over time, it allowed Israel to slip into complete spiritual desolation. King Saul and King Solomon are prime examples of Men who start out well, but they didn’t finish well! Both ended in a state of Apostasy because they quit listening to the voice of God. Samuel’s life shows us how to run this Christian race and ultimately receive our crown in glory!

Throughout the life of Samuel, he stayed sensitive to the voice of God and was able to tune the world around him out. From his first encounter with God as a child, he hearkened unto His voice all the days of his life, and shows us it’s not good enough to be called, anointed, and blessed of God- He demands our obedience! There’s an inherent attribute to being a child of God, if we put Him first and obey his commandments, he will go before us and fight our battles! This is something Samuel understood, and James tells us why it’s so important to be doers of the word: James 1:22-25 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” This is so important for us as Christians, because one thing that will shipwreck our walk with God is when we forget who we are! Let’s look at Saul for a moment-called to be King, prophet, anointed, blessed of God- yet, Saul was like that man who looked in the mirror and saw himself, but soon after forgot who he was! It was a direct result of turning a deaf ear to God and led to his disobedience. Saul chose to do things his own way, and the end result was a loss of identity and stripped from the kingdom of Israel.

THE SPIRIT OF SAMUEL– not only hears the voice of God, but he obeys the voice of God. Just as Samuel rebuked Saul, “to obey is better than sacrifice.” As we continue in our daily walk with God, we must block out the world, keep our ears and our spirit in tune with God, and we must obey his commands. We must keep our hearts pliable, and never allow them to harden. God cannot work with stiff-necked people. We must remember “He is the potter, and we are the clay.” If you want to be used of God-allow Him to shape and mold you on a daily basis!

Time has a way of changing people, some for the good, and others not so much. As Christians, we are on a journey in life, living as pilgrims in a foreign land. We go through seasons of life, we have heartache, pain, disappointments, and through all of these seasons, we must stay faithful to God, and we must become more like him. Just as genetics has a way of preserving qualities in the family gene pool, as we grow in the Lord, we will take on his identity, and become more like our heavenly father! I believe as Samuel aged, the things of God become wrapped into the fibers of his DNA: Samuel loved what God loved, and he hated what God hated. This will stomp out the deadly roots of Apostasy, which is Apathy- The quality of not caring anymore, no connection, no feelings. This is a deadly foe for the child of God, and we must never allow ourselves to become complacent and apathetic towards the things of God. This is what happened to men such as Saul, Solomon, Demas-they lost their spiritual connection to God, and apathy took root in their hearts, and the end result was a good beginning, but an ending of Desolation from God Almighty! Their holy zeal was replaced with an idolatrous heart.

THE SPIRIT OF SAMUEL- will keep the fire of God stirred up in his heart, and never let it go out! That’s something Samuel never lost, in his ladder days the zeal for the things of God caused him to stomp out any root of apathy, compromise, and disobedience. Time sometimes has a way of causing people to become apathetic towards different things- such as a spouse, family, jobs, and unfortunately God. Why, because they quit working at the relationship, and eventually their heart migrates towards something else. An example, the coming of the Lord used to be on everyone’s mind, but over time people have simply forgotten, and quit caring. The follies of this world have consumed them, and caused their hearts to go astray. Saints of God, we must keep the fire of the Holy Ghost burning deep within us, and hate what God hates, and love what He loves. Samuel proved the zeal of God was still fervent in his heart when he got word Saul had spared King Agag. The commandment was for Saul to destroy all the Amelekite’s- yet Saul done as was right in his own eyes by sparing the king’s life! Samuel knew why God commanded everything to be wiped out- it was for the sake of Israel’s future generations never having to be bothered by those pesky godless people again. Samuel wasn’t just worried about himself; he looked to protect the future of God’s people. Samuel grabbed a sword and killed King Agag, and hewed him to pieces to show you don’t mess around with sin! Zeal for God will kill the deadly roots of Apathy, and pesky sins in our life. To avoid sin-we must hate sin!

It’s not how you start this race, but it’s how you finish! The life of Samuel was one who from the womb was destined to be greatly used of God, but he had to make decisions in his life that helped him to finish well. Saints of God, eternity is too long to live most our lives serving God, and then coming up short in the end. The providences of God are too sweet to become entangled with the snares of sin. His blessings are too rich to compromise truth. I want live a life pleasing unto God, and it’s going to take a solid foundation if we plan to finish well. The choice is ours today. Many are called but few are chosen! May the Lord richly bless each of your lives, and may we all make Heaven our home one day!

God Bless, JDS