Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow / Livestream
Lead by being obedient to God, like Samuel did.
“I hope that will encourage you in your own walk with the Lord, that you want to be like Samuel in the way that is demonstrated in Scripture, the way that God recorded His life for us, so that we would say, ‘My goodness, I want to know people like Sam. I want to be a person like Sam,'" Griffin told students on Monday at Global Credit Union Arena during his Chapel talk.
He referenced various verses from 1 Samuel to illustrate how Samuel's obedience and honesty allowed him to walk with God – and how that quality earned him a place in the Hall of Faith from Hebrews 11, this year's Chapel theme.
Griffin took time out to speak about grit – for GCU, it stands for Grounded, Relationships, Integrity and Teachability. Grit is important in helping us be successful and persevere through tough times, and it has been a campus theme for the last two years, with a focus this year around relationships.
“You all know how important relationships are to your success as not only a student, but just as a human – as a follower of Jesus – how important it is to have those people around you and be in a relationship with them in a way that encourages you to serve Him and follow Him and to do that well,” Griffin said, before returning to his talk about Samuel and his relationship with God.
Samuel, who would become known as the "king maker," fulfilled the promise made by his mother, Hannah. She was unable to have children but prayed that God would give her a child, one she would dedicate to His service.
Samuel served as Israel's last judge, one who would anoint Israel's first two kings, Saul and David, when Israel decided it wanted a king instead of a theocracy, as other tribes had. Samuel served as God's mouthpiece during the tumultuous transition from judges to kings, even though Samuel knew people needed to follow the Lord.
God tells Samuel, “Listen, the people have not disobeyed you. They disobeyed me.”
Samuel fulfilled his role by working behind the scenes. He “was being used by God in a very unique way to help Israel hopefully get off to a good start with something that God really didn't want for them,” Griffin said. “But God allowed for it and taught them and teaches us about what it's like to have human leaders – not the ideal, because King Jesus is the real and best leader that we can follow.”
This illustrates Samuel’s humility and obedience.
In 1 Samuel 3:10, Samuel responds to God’s call by saying, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
“Man, what a great response by Samuel,” Griffin said.
It serves as a reminder, Griffin said, of how important it is to have a “listening ear” rather than just filling your head with podcasts and lots of information.
Samuel's obedience is reinforced in 1 Samuel 12:24: “But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart. Consider what great things He has done for you.”
After achieving success and gaining the support of the children of Israel, Saul started to fail and acted arrogant. That prompts Samuel to say in 1 Samuel 15:22, “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
Samuel steps in after Saul doesn’t follow an order by God, only to attempt to buy God’s favor.
“And it’s such a great lesson for me when I'm trying to reason with my walk with God,” Griffin said. “Where there are moments when it's going great, and other moments where it's not going so great. I feel kind of bad for it.”
In the second week of classes for the spring semester, Griffin warns that students could be vulnerable to making decisions about others based, for example, on their new clothes. Those opinions aren't always accurate.
That comes into play in 1 Samuel 16:7: “The Lord looks at the heart.”
David, a sheepherder who was often overlooked among Jesse’s taller and handsome sons, became Saul’s successor as king of Israel. David was chosen over Samuel for his character and faithfulness.
In summarizing Samuel’s life, Griffin encouraged students to pause and listen to God and not be cluttered and distracted by noise.
Also, “You might be struggling and stressing over something, and it's hard to right now think about how good God is, because it's so hard and it's so painful,” Griffin said. “But my friend, God will see you through that.”
Griffin reflected on his own life as a husband, father and grandfather, and his time at GCU and other places, where he navigated through some “rough chapters.”
“Now I can look back, and I can see it is not a difficult moment, from the moment of blessing, where God is teaching me something He couldn't teach me without difficulty,” Griffin said.
“What He wants you to remember about His goodness, what He wants you to obey – but you've got to be listening – is your heart has to be in tune with His Spirit that lives within you.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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Next Chapel speaker: Illuminate Community Church Pastor Jason Fritz, 11 a.m., Jan. 26, Global Credit Union Arena
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