Used by God


1 Samuel 14:47-52
47 When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them.
48 And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.
50 And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.
51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
52 There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.

One of the truths about God that can bring us into a realistic view of ourselves is that God does not need our compliance or our permission for Him to use us to further His way and His goals for those around us. God was, is, and always will be sovereign us and the entire universe. This can be a tough realization for some, as they do not want God involved in their lives in any way. It can also be a tough realization for those of us who walk with Him daily, but sometimes choose to walk in the opposite direction He is going.

If you had asked Saul “are you God’s man?” he would have said “Yes.” And yet we can see that his ego is getting the better of him as he serves as king. Already, he has taken on the role of priest; a role he was not called to by God – ever. He has threatened the life of his own son through a rash vow taken in a vain effort to impress God, causing suffering for his people. But despite these things (which happen fairly early in his reign as king), we find that God can still use Saul to protect His people. What Saul was not able to do (because he was operating under his own power rather than God’s) was to bring peace to Israel. The nation was at war during Saul’s entire reign. And we find that Saul is not trusting in God as his strength, but in the numerous mighty men of war that he gathered around him.

At times we can be wildly confused about the direction God is calling us. We battle within ourselves for peace about a decision or a situation that just doesn’t seem to have a path toward resolution. At those times we need to take heart, as the God of the universe is not looking away or waiting for you to make the wrong choice. He is able to make His way known and will see that it is played out despite your choices. The difference between us and Saul is that we actually care what God wants and sometimes even know how to put our ego aside and let God be God. It is never time to go out and search for “mighty men” who can protect you or make your plans happen. Instead, we daily (sometimes moment by moment) turn our attention to the Lord who already has everything well in hand.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Excusez-moi

Image
2 Kings 23:31-37 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-fiv
Read more

יהוה שָׁמַר--Yahweh Shamar (God Watches)

Image
Psalm 121 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. There are numerous passages I cling to when stress takes over my life. I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite, but this psalm would come close. So this morning I listened to Psalm 121 about 20 times as I meditated through the verses. First, I want to point out that the word or idea of shamar appears in every verse expect 6. The NIV uses the word "watch" while the ESV uses "keep". The
Read more

Narrow Door

Image
Luke 13:22-30 22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them , 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at tabl
Read more