How God works with us

By Daniel Francis

Do you know I failed history when I was in secondary school? I ignored any subject that I did not like. I found remembering the dates and names difficult. However, as an adult, I can’t help but see the great importance of history.

History teaches us about our past, and from learning about it, we learn that humanity repeats the same mistakes repeatedly.

The recent daily readings have been taken from the Book of Samuel. Samuel was a great prophet whose birth was brought on by God’s intervention, like John the Baptist.

While viewing one of Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon’s homilies, he was explaining what was taking place with the Israelites in the time of Samuel. In this reading, the Israelites wanted a king to rule over them, basically saying they did not like the rule of God, and they wanted what everyone else was experiencing. God said, and I am paraphrasing with our Trini dialect, “Oh, dais what allyuh want? Ok, ok, go right ahead, but when tings go south, doh say ah didn’t warn yuh.” Anyone else imagines God with a Trini accent, or is it just me?

So, the Israelites went on to get a king even though God spelt out in detail how oppressive the situation would be, and so said so done, the people sacrificed in new ways.

What stuck with me is the personal parallelism that this Scripture plays in our lives. Just like the Israelites wanted a king, even though they knew it was not from God and it would lead to problems, we fall into the temptation of sin, even though we know the ruin it will bring to our spirits and the strain it will bring to our relationship with God. We can’t scoff at the Israelites because we are the Israelites.

I recall a period in my life where sin had me in a chokehold. I think back on that period often and wish that I had made better decisions. I still feel the negative impact in my present-day life, and I feel regret over turning away from God in that moment. I chose sin over Him even though I knew full well what I was doing was wrong. I felt shame for my actions, yet I have to remind myself that God works with us.

In the story of the Israelites in Samuel, even though they strayed from the path of God and paid the price, God worked with them by bringing forth King David and his lineage. This lineage then went on to be used to bring forth Jesus, and we all know how the story goes.

In that same line of thinking, I see how God worked with me even though I had sinned. He saw my actions, He saw my cry for help, and He turned my situation around. He used my current position to chart a path for me that renewed my spirit. Looking back, I don’t need to feel shame because, just like with the Israelites, He turned my situation around in a way that brought me fruits that now fill me.

My current journey with Him has been made all the stronger thanks to how He worked with me even though I chose sin over Him.

Think about this in the context of your own lives. Have you been choosing sin over God? Do you feel shame over your past actions? Know that when you turn to God, He will forgive and turn your situation around.

It may not be in the way you expect, but He will always guide you back to the right path, once you allow Him to.

Daniel Francis, author of The Millennial Mind, The Millennial Experience, and How to Write and Self-Publish Your Book, is an entrepreneur passionate about leadership and storytelling. As a leadership development coach at Rebit Limited, he has spent the last four years equipping individuals to thrive personally and professionally.

He also leads One Momentum Publishing, a hybrid publishing company through which he has guided hundreds of authors on their journey from idea to published book.

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