On the Throne (1 Samuel 7-9)

But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord.  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. (1 Samuel 8:6-7)

God allows us to have things that are outside of His plans for our lives.  Though He’s omnipotent, He allows us to make decisions that aren’t always pleasing to Him.

The story of Israel begging for a king is an interesting one because the nation’s desire for a king was clearly outside of the will of God.  The Lord didn’t want a king for them because He wanted to be their king.  As long as a human was king, a man would be controlling the kingdom’s wealth, and the direction of the kingdom would be determined by his faithfulness.

So why did God allow it?  It’s part of what is called God’s permissive will – that is, He allows it even though it comes at a cost.  But just because He allows it doesn’t mean that it was a part of His original intent.  One only has to continue reading through the history of the Israelites to find that Israel’s kings led the nation astray to the worship of other gods more often than they led the nation to worship the Lord.  Their lack of faithfulness to Him led to problems.

The truth is, God wants to be king of our lives, too.  He doesn’t want anything or anyone else controlling us because He knows that His plans for our lives are best.

The thing you need to think about is whether or not God is sitting on the throne of your life.  Do your decisions revolve around what is pleasing to Him?  Does your use of time reflect the value you place in Him?  Do your finances show that He is in charge?  Is He on the throne of your life?  If not, then you will miss out on the blessings that come from walking in accordance to His ways.

Father, help me to place You and keep You on the throne of my life.  Keep me from being enticed by other people and things that vie for that position.  Let me, with joy, concede it to You so that I may walk in Your ways.