As we continue our journey to trust God more, let’s look back at 1 Samuel 8:7. When Samuel told God the people were asking for a king like the other nations had, “the Lord told him: ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king’.” After everything God had done for them – they were rejecting Him. We often do the same.
Many of us are doing the same today – breaking our necks, our families, our financial futures to be like the world. We are patterning our lives, speech, walk, perspective, and more just like the world. Therein lies the problem because the world does not have the answers needed for joy, for peace. The Israelites forgot their strength and power was not in being like the world but rather in NOT being like the world. Have we forgotten too forgotten in whom we need to put our trust? This week, may we turn back to Him and trust Him more!
Let’s each ask ourselves two questions and answer honestly. In light of all God has done for you, are there areas of spiritual decay happening in your life right now? Are there aspects of your life where you have rejected God? Thankfully, we have the promise of 2 Timothy 2:13, “if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.” God remains faithful, even when we experience spiritual decay, even when we reject Him and move away. It is the reason we have to trust God more so we do not fall into the same trap in which the Israelites found themselves.
Why did they reject God? We see one reason in 1 Samuel 8:5 when they demand of Samuel, “Now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” They stopped trusting God because they simply wanted to be like everyone else. They knew Samuel was getting old and they were worried about the potential problems they might have when He was gone. They wondered, “What are we going to do if our enemies come back and Samuel is dead?” Instead of keeping their eyes on God and drawing near to Him, they turned their attention to the world and see the world handles issues like these with a king. They turned away from the King of Kings and said, “We want to be like the world!”
Many of us are doing the same today – breaking our necks, our families, our financial futures to be like the world. We are patterning our lives, speech, walk, perspective, and more just like the world. Therein lies the problem because the world does not have the answers needed for joy, for peace. The Israelites forgot their strength and power was not in being like the world but rather in NOT being like the world. Have we forgotten too forgotten in whom we need to put our trust? This week, may we turn back to Him and trust Him more!