By Grace Through Faith

 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 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 have rejected me from being king over them. – 1 Samuel 8:4-7

I started studying 1 Samuel recently, and I found this passage to really ignite some sparks in my heart as it comes with having confidence in our faith and sharing it with others. At this time, Samuel was viewed as a spiritual leader within his culture. Yet, the people of Israel did not want to follow the Lord like Samuel did. They wanted their own king.

Samuel was disappointed in the people’s hearts and words. However, the Lord reminded Samuel that the people at their core were rejecting God, not Samuel.

It reminds me of John 15, where Jesus speaks about the hatred of the world towards Him and to His followers:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. – John 15:18-21

As humans, we want to find this belonging, acceptance, and affirmation from others. We were created to be loved by God, and we try many times to find that in other humans. However, we will not always be accepted for our beliefs, our views, and our values.

I think it can be challenging at times when we want to share biblical truths with others in our world. There’s a fear of being “cancelled” in our culture, and our desire to be valued in the world can overcome our courage and faith in obeying the Lord with the directions that He has placed on our lives.

When we look at Samuel’s story, he continued to obey the Lord in guiding the people to appoint a king. However, it saddened Samuel because the people did not choose to obey the Lord as he knew the Lord should be worshipped and valued. However, this does not stop Samuel in how he chose to serve and worship the Lord. He continued to seek the Lord and be a light towards others in his culture.

The Lord knows the hearts of each person on the planet. While we are called to serve the Lord, share His Word with others, love others, and walk righteously in the ways of Jesus, we do not have any final say about a person’s heart, and we are not the judge. I want to say this with encouragement of do not hide or quiet your voice as you share the gospel and your faith with others. Do not feel that you do not have freedom or room to speak. The Lord works through each of us, and we cannot let fear of man overcome our fear and love towards God.

There have been multiple times where I have not fully obeyed God due to fear of approval of man. Due to the fear of being rejected or being canceled. However, the Lord again teaches us that if the world hates Him, it will hate us. We will be looked at differently and maybe not “approved” for things we do following the Lord. And that is okay. We aren’t aiming to serve thousands of men, just One God.

This week, reflect on what the Lord is placing on your heart to do. Is there a person that He is placing on your heart to speak to? Is there a step He is wanting you to take in your walk out of fear and placing confidence in Him? Is He calling you to have time aside with Him for a day, in prayer and fasting? Be praying over what the Lord is calling you to do next and how to serve Him in His kingdom with where you are planted in this season.

With love,

Claire