Before You Seek, Return (Day 5)
SERVE HIM ONLY
God demands exclusivity not because He's insecure... but because He knows we're unfaithful.
Isaiah 43:10-11 (ESV)
"You are my witnesses, declares the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior."
Devotional Thought
Here's the final instruction Samuel gave Israel before they entered the fast. Serve Him only.
Not serve Him mostly. Not serve Him primarily. Not serve Him along with a few other things on the side. Only.
Why is God so insistent on exclusivity? Is He insecure? Does He need our undivided attention to feel validated?
Here's what I need you to know. God demands exclusivity not because He's insecure but because He knows we're unfaithful. He removes the alternatives because we will worship them if they're available. It's not about His ego. It's about our weakness.
Isaiah declares that before God no god was formed, and after Him none shall be. He alone is the LORD. Besides Him there is no savior. This isn't arrogance. This is reality. No other source can save you. No other god can deliver you. No other alternative can provide what He provides.
So why do we keep going back to things that don't work?
Because they're available. Because they're easy. Because they don't require the surrender that serving God only demands.
Family...the fast is not about restricting food. It's about returning to Him. It's about freedom, not food. A change of heart, not an increase in hunger. God is not looking for empty fasting. He's looking for emptied hands.
So as this devotional series comes to a close, I need you to answer honestly.
What are you clinging to for blessing, security, or identity apart from God? What is your darling sin... the compromise you keep returning to? What have you added to God that's diluting your devotion? What will you ruthlessly renounce in this season?
God is not impressed by what you give up if you won't let go of what holds you back.
This is your moment. Before you go any further. Before you move into the next season. Name it. Renounce it. Release it.
If you know there's something you've been clinging to. If you recognize a darling sin that keeps coming back. If you've normalized a compromise that's stealing your devotion. This is your moment.
The heart has been examined. The darling sins have been named. The foreign gods have been exposed. Now comes the singular commitment.
Serve Him only.
Not mostly. Not primarily. Only.
That's the pathway from lamenting to returning. From seeking without seeing to actually encountering the living God.
Not serve Him mostly. Not serve Him primarily. Not serve Him along with a few other things on the side. Only.
Why is God so insistent on exclusivity? Is He insecure? Does He need our undivided attention to feel validated?
Here's what I need you to know. God demands exclusivity not because He's insecure but because He knows we're unfaithful. He removes the alternatives because we will worship them if they're available. It's not about His ego. It's about our weakness.
Isaiah declares that before God no god was formed, and after Him none shall be. He alone is the LORD. Besides Him there is no savior. This isn't arrogance. This is reality. No other source can save you. No other god can deliver you. No other alternative can provide what He provides.
So why do we keep going back to things that don't work?
Because they're available. Because they're easy. Because they don't require the surrender that serving God only demands.
Family...the fast is not about restricting food. It's about returning to Him. It's about freedom, not food. A change of heart, not an increase in hunger. God is not looking for empty fasting. He's looking for emptied hands.
So as this devotional series comes to a close, I need you to answer honestly.
What are you clinging to for blessing, security, or identity apart from God? What is your darling sin... the compromise you keep returning to? What have you added to God that's diluting your devotion? What will you ruthlessly renounce in this season?
God is not impressed by what you give up if you won't let go of what holds you back.
This is your moment. Before you go any further. Before you move into the next season. Name it. Renounce it. Release it.
If you know there's something you've been clinging to. If you recognize a darling sin that keeps coming back. If you've normalized a compromise that's stealing your devotion. This is your moment.
The heart has been examined. The darling sins have been named. The foreign gods have been exposed. Now comes the singular commitment.
Serve Him only.
Not mostly. Not primarily. Only.
That's the pathway from lamenting to returning. From seeking without seeing to actually encountering the living God.
Application Questions
1. What would it look like for you to serve God only... without alternatives, without backup plans, without things on the side?
2. As this series ends, what is the one thing you need to name, renounce, and release?
2. As this series ends, what is the one thing you need to name, renounce, and release?
Today's Challenge
Make a declaration today. Write it out. Speak it aloud. "I will serve the Lord only." Then list specifically what you are putting away... the darling sins, the foreign gods, the alternatives. Sign it. Date it. Let it be your covenant for this season.
Today's Prayer
Lord, I declare today that I will serve You only. Not mostly. Not primarily. Only. I put away the darling sins that have held me captive. I renounce the foreign gods I've been turning to. I release the alternatives I've kept on the side. You alone are my God. You alone are my Savior. You alone will have the throne of my heart. In Jesus' name, amen.
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