Okay, the title is quite cheesy. I already know that. You can probably guess from the title that I'm in the Old Testament today. I'm so original, I know... not. Enough jibber-jabber. Let's jump right in.
I've been in 1 Samuel and was initially blown away by Hannah's prayer. I don't know why I didn't blog about it... Maybe later. I have other things on my brain at the moment. Okay... moving along to chapter 8. I can relate a lot to Samuel in the beginning of this chapter. For those of you that know me personally you know that when it comes to evangelism I casually change the subject. I've become almost a pro at it, which isn't good. I have a fear of rejection that comes naturally to most people. I get sad and feel down whenever I am rejected on something that I am passionate about. That's about what Samuel is feeling in the beginning of chapter 8. Samuel is crying to God. Then God chimes in and says in verse 7:
And 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." (NIV)
I always love it when Old Testament translates past New Testament into 21st Century problems. I'm not even sure that sentence makes sense. Anyway, Israel is begging for a king. They want to be like everyone else and have a king rule over them and fight their battles. Evangelism is offering this king/getting people to realize that this king already exists. So, be encouraged my fellow soldiers! When we reach out to people and offer them Christ and they say, "No." or "Maybe Later." or "I'm just really busy right now." they are are rejecting God not you! Yes, it's still going to hurt. It's not going to be pleasant. God still wants a relationship with you. Why would I worry about being rejected or ridiculed? It's God they're hurting which is much worse than my hurt feelings. Not that we shouldn't care that God is being rejected. It's simply a reminder that it's not about us.
Moving on to verses 19-20. I chuckled a little when I read these verses. I thought to myself, "These people are not smart. What on earth were they thinking." Then I thought to myself, "Self, you do this all the time." And then I related and learned from history.
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and go out before us and fight our battles."
I originally looked at this and was like: You dummies! God is your king. He's already fought your battles. Why would you want to be like everyone else! You're supposed to be different! Then I thought again to myself (I did a lot of thinking to myself this morning you can tell): Even then God's chosen people were meant to stand out in a crowd. They were called to be different. They didn't need a king because that had the King. Yet, they were blinded by their own desires. This doesn't really come as news as most of us know at least a little about the history of the Israelites. They were in a out of exile and they turned their faces from God a lot. The same stuff is happening today. God is fighting every single battle to this day for his people. I know I get so blinded by my own desires that I lose sight of God and all that he is doing and has done for me. Again, be encouraged! God is our King. We need no longer look for a king! He leads us; He goes out before us; He fights our battles.
I feel very empowered right now. I'm going to chew on this for a while.
Stay spiritual my friends.
Liz.
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