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If you ever doubt the loving mercy of God, read this passage:
And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.
And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;
And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.
For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.
Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:
Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king. (1 Samuel 12:19-25 KJV)
I read this passage in my devotions and I was struck by how merciful God is.
The children of Israel blatantly disobeyed Him in asking for a king, but He forgave them and gave them another chance.
God forgave the mistake they made and commanded them to start fresh – from here on out, do right.  So often God does the same for me. He works despite my mistakes. He can take whatever we leave with Him and make it beautiful.
However (and this is what we often forget or try to ignore to make ourselves feel better), the picture is always more beautiful if we do the right thing from the get-go. Sure, God can work despite our mistakes, but those mistakes aren’t part of His plan and they do mar the canvas. Those mistakes bring about consequences that we have to deal with. What would Jewish history look like today if Israel had stayed a theocracy like God intended? We’ll never know – at least not here on earth.
Never forget – God is so merciful. Wherever you are in life, start doing right right now! But don’t use God’s mercy as a license for sin. Sin never pays. There’s a balance there.
Louise Miller says
Brianna, just finished reading your blog and enjoyed it. Aside note, the other day I made your peach spice overnight oatmeal and when I got to the sweetner I was like – OK what is a DOONK? I had to experiment with it over several times and I finally got it right but I would suggest that you use words that are known to most people when you share a recipe
Briana Thomas says
Hi Louise, I’m sorry you had trouble with the sweetener. However, I just checked and I do in fact have an explanation for “doonk” right there in the recipe. A doonk is a 1/32 tsp. (that’s the size of the little scoop that comes in most pure stevia powders).
Nancy Engel says
It is early and I just read your beautiful post. Started my day off right. Thanks so much Briana for all your recipes and posts. You are truly a blessing to all of us THM’s. May God Bless you abundantly. Have a great day! Nancy
Briana Thomas says
Thank YOU, Nancy! God bless.