The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Wednesday
May 7, 2008
And Samuel told him, "Although you may think little of yourself, are you not
the leader of the tribes of Israel? The LORD has anointed
you king of Israel And the LORD sent you on a mission and
told you, 'Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are
all dead.' Why haven't you obeyed the LORD? Why did you
rush for the plunder and do exactly what the LORD said not
to do?"
"But I did obey the LORD," Saul insisted. "I
carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed
everyone else. Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep and cattle
and plunder to sacrifice to the LORD your God in
Gilgal."
But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his
voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better
than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as bad as the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have
rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you from
being king."
1 Samuel 15:17-23
When I read this portion of scripture I was totally amazed at the Lord our God! Verse seventeen gives us the reason so many of us fail, we think too little of ourselves. Oh, in the flesh we would look at Saul's behavior and begin to believe that he thought too highly of himself. We would be wrong!
It is when people have a low self-image that they try to do things that make them look important. This is exactly what happened to Saul. God showed me that it was also happening in my life. Oh, He has probably been trying to tell me this for years, but I was in denial.
Your Heavenly Father, and mine, is so intimately acquainted with us that even though He knows us so well He still loves us. This amazes me. He knows my heart and yet, He still loves me. Oh, even though He loves me and allows me to serve Him and His people, He will not elevate me to the perfect plan for my life until I am walking in complete obedience and submission to Him!
Several years ago, while watching a Joyce Meyer program I was deeply convicted about authority. I realized that deep within me there were residual elements of rebellion. This needed to be confessed and cast out. I recognized that these seeds of rebellion had taken root in my daughter and her son. This hurts, but it is true. Is it fatal? Only if it isn't dealt with and I plan to deal with it. How? I have confessed the truth, repented of the problem, and surrendered to the Lord my God! Now, does that mean that it is over once and for all? No! Problems with authority often have to be dealt with over and over! Sorry!
Oh, people, let us first look into the residual sin in our lives and get it cleaned up so we can enter in to pure praise and worship of the Lord our God!
Father, I thank You for the power of Your Word and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit in my life. Clean me up Lord. I know that when You are finished I will have Your thoughts toward me rather than my thoughts toward me and that I will be in obedient submission to Your will!
