Day 24- Trust
I’m at the point in 1 Samuel (chapter
8) where Israel is demanding a king. The people are
making a few somewhat legitimate sounding excuses
in this demand for a king, like Samuel is old and
his sons are corrupt judges. But then the truth comes
out- they want to be like all the other nations and
they want a king to fight their battles.
My first response was, “Israel,
how dumb are you?! Didn’t you just see God destroy
your enemy the Philistines?! Don’t you remember
God delivering you out of the hands of Pharaoh?! You
have God, you don’t need some regular guy with
a crown!” And then conviction rained down on
me. I have seen God move without a doubt in my life
and in the lives of others. But sometimes I get to
a situation and I call up someone to help me. If I
don’t like their advice or they can’t
help, I call someone else. Unfortunately many times
when I’m facing something challenging, God is
like the third or fourth down on my list to talk to.
Why do I not go to God first every time? I know what
He is capable of, and I have seen the results of His
work. How quickly I seem to forget. This is one thing
I really enjoy about being in God’s Word every
day is that I’m constantly reminded of His awesomeness!
I’ve noticed that in the last few weeks, which
have had some stressful moments, I have gone to Him
first most of the time.
There were actually quite a few angles
of this chapter that popped out to me, but the other
one I want to talk about is how Samuel reacted. He
was upset when the people came to him saying he was
old and his sons were awful and that they wanted a
king instead. Understandably so. I think someone ripping
on me and my family would hit home pretty hard. God
reassured Samuel, though, and said, “For they
have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me,
that I should not reign over them.” But then
here’s the kicker, even though they are rejecting
God, God tells Samuel to heed their voice… twice!
All I can think of is how angry I would
be! Samuel has been a servant of God since he was
born, always faithful and walking in His ways. God
is Samuel’s passion and joy in life- his very
core that everything revolves around. And these people
are outright rejecting God, and Samuel is told by
God to do what they say?! Samuel admits he’s
displeased, but he doesn’t argue with God, he
doesn’t fight with the people; he just faithfully
does what God commands. Wow, that is one amazing character.
I can handle it when people are harsh
towards me, but when someone starts being harsh towards
someone I care about it makes me just want to totally
lose it, verging on uncontrollable rage. Samuel, wow,
what an incredible example of putting feelings aside,
listening and obeying God. I know we don’t always
understand God’s course of action, but even
when it seems totally backward to us, we have to trust
Him and leave the outcome to Him.
Lord,
Thank You for that incredible example You have given
us in Samuel’s character. Thank You for reminding
me that I need to listen and be obedient to You, even
if I don’t understand how it will work out.
I have so much evidence in my life and in the Bible
of how much You love me and will take care of me,
yet I second guess You so often. Forgive me Lord for
taking matters into my own hands. Help me to trust
You with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
