What you want

Be careful what you ask for. You just might get it.

1 Samuel 8:7 And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they rejected me from being king over them.

1 Samuel 8:11, 18 He said, 'These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you...And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen from yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.

When the people of Israel turned their hearts toward the Lord he brought them peace. He restored their land and cities. He brought them success. This is what the Lord promised them all along. They were to follow the ways of the Lord in the land and he would provide for them.

This was not enough for them. They wanted a king. They wanted to be like the nations around them. They wanted power and pride of man. In their hearts they rejected the Lord as their King.

It is interesting that the Lord simply told Samuel to grant them the request. The Lord did not redirect them again. He let them have what they asked for. He warned the people what the outcome would be and left them to their vice. The results were pretty devastating. War, conscription, the king hoarding wealth for himself, debauchery, idolatry, and eventually exile.

There were many years where having a human king seemed like a great idea. Israel had many years of power, pride, and wealth. But they did not have what they truly needed; the intimate presence and blessing of God. This was a turning point for them.

God is the King they truly needed. Eventually, he would come as the true King, Jesus Christ. He was a king who lived a perfect life, served his people, healed his people, loved his people, died for his people's sins, and rose from the grave to save his people. This is the description of a good and godly King.

I look around at my life and wonder, 'Have I ever sought what I should not? Have I ever pursued what I should not?' Maybe I have? Maybe I have chased after things I should not have chased? Maybe I have opened doors the Lord told me to leave shut? And maybe I am experiencing the consequences of those pursuits in some areas of my life?

I desire clarity of mind and heart. I desire to know if and where I went astray. I desire to pursue the things the Lord wants for me, to experience the life he called me to. I desire to experience a fresh closeness to the Lord, to live step by step in his presence, and to know him more and more.

May I live like this all my days. Amen.

Taken from reading 1 Samuel 6-10