Back Where We Belong!

"If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."

One of my fondest memories a s chilld growing up is that of watching the Los Angeles Lakers battle the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Of course there was no HDTV nor did we have ESPN but CBS was just fine (as long as it didn't rain, then we had to pull out the bunny ears!). It seemed like every year these two teams would meet to decide who was the best of the basketball world. Both of these teams are making a return to their usual place of prominence this week in the NBA Finals. The Lakers, which have been to the Finals more times than any other team (31), are returning for the 3rd consecutive year. The Celtics, who have more titles (17) than anyone are returning for the 2nd time in three years. As I thought about these teams returning to the Finals, I thought about the scripture reference for today. In it Samuel clearly states what the people of God must do in order to return to where they should be with God.

To better understand the text, one must understand the context. Israel had been oppressed and harrased by their enemy, the Phillistines, for many years. In fact the Philistines had even taken the Ark of the Covenant which was symbolic of the Presence of God. For at least 20 years the Presence of God had been absent from among them. Instead of enjoying the place of favor during this time the people experienced failure, fruitlessness and frustration. It was at this time the people basically said enough is enough and began to desire to return to God. It was at this time that Samuel conveys to them, and to us, what it takes to get back where we belong.

First Samuel says we must Repent. This word literally means a change of mind that evenuates in a change of action. It is senseless and useless to think that we can continue in the same futile direction and expect things to change. Only by changing our mind and turning from sin to God can we expect things to be different. Secondly Samuel says we must Release some things. For the Israelites it was foreign gods that they had begun to worship. The same is true for us. What is it that you are holding on to that you know you need to let go of? We must be wiling to let go of little gods if we are to get back to where we belong.

Finally Samuel says we must Re-Commit. We must be willing to give our whole selves to God just as we did when we first accepted Him as our Lord. When we make this commitment it also means that we will serve Him only. The Good News is if we are willing to Repent, Release, and Re-Committ, God will Restore us to our place of favor and also restore to us what was lost in the meantime. The end of this text says that all the lands the Phillistines had taken were restored to the Israelites. As you evaluate the first six months of the year 2010 can you say that you are enjoying the place of favor or is your experience more like that of Israel's? If the latter is true, today you can Get Back where you Belong!

PEACE!