3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.
Before the victory came the return. Samuel called Israel not to fight, but to first deal with what had quietly taken God’s place in their hearts. There is something deeply honest about this passage: renewal always begins with laying something down. As FGA marks 40 years, this is not just a time to celebrate what has been. It is a threshold to something new. And new things begin with cleared ground.
Ask the Spirit to show you one thing (a habit, an attitude, a distraction) that has quietly taken first place. Write it down. Surrender it to God today as an act of preparation for what is ahead.
Lord, we return to You with our whole hearts. Forgive us for the things we have let crowd You out. Clear the ground in us. We want to enter the next season clean, surrendered, and ready for what You desire to do. Amen.
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