Mentors & Examples

While studying the life of David I discovered that I needed to examine the influences in his life that contributed to the man he became. We all have mentors that have made a difference and given us examples to follow or not.

Samuel was a Godly influence throughout his life and it’s fascinating to see where his influences came from. First his mother was a woman named Hannah who sought the Lord in her distress and made a vow that if God would give her a son she would give him back to God to serve him all the days of his life. That is a huge vow given that the thing she wanted most in life was a son.

Hannah kept her vow to God and when Samuel was three years old took him to the tabernacle and left him with the priest Eli to serve God. At that very young age Samuel bowed before the Lord. The influence of his mother had taught him to worship God.

I have a three year old granddaughter and I can’t imagine giving her to someone else to raise, let alone a priest that according to the bible had two sons who dishonored God. Nevertheless, Hannah was faithful to her vow to God and God was really the one watching over her son.

Think of someone who has been a mentor in your life. A friend, neighbor, pastor, teacher or parent. All have influence in our lives and we choose what to believe and follow. Some example we would like to duplicate and others we use as reasons not to do the same things.

How we live our lives also provides examples for others and there is always someone that we can be a mentor to. What a privilege to be a positive influence in the life of another.

My Prayer

Father, thank you for the many mentors You have provided throughout my life. The examples that they have provided have shown me that our decisions carry lasting consequences and varied outcomes. Help me to be a Godly example to others and to seek out opportunities to be a mentor to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Where does my help come from?

1 Corinthians 10:11

These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.