I Samuel 7:3
“Then Samuel addressed the house of Israel: ‘If you are truly serious about coming back to GOD, clean house. Get rid of the foreign gods and fertility goddesses, ground yourselves firmly in GOD, worship him and him alone, and he’ll save you from Philistine oppression.’”
“Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, ‘If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn you hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.’”
God promised to save Israel from the Philistines. He was and is faithful to keep his promises. But it did not then seem so. There were victories to come, but also crushing defeats. It would be two decades before this promise had its temporal fulfillment. Saul, Jonathan, and David’s exile all must come to pass. God’s promises are simple and profound, but not easy to take hold of. They require an exercise of faith muscle. As he is trustworthy to us, we must learn to be trust-worthy of him.
Lord, when times are good it is so easy to think I trust you. When they are bad I falter as much as anyone. The emotional turmoil of stress seems to send trust and faith out the window. Change me, my trust and faith in you, to be emotion-proof; solid regardless my circumstances.