My devotional scripture today was 1 Samuel 3 and I have developed this habit of always straying from the scripture given, which is not always a bad thing. So, of course I was doing this when I stumbled upon 1 Samuel 3:18. I immediately knew that I had experienced a ‘Selah’ moment. I had to pause and reflect on what I had read.
Samuel, (whose mother sent him to the Temple to keep her end of a covenant with God) has a conversation with God and the Lord tells him many great things, including a prophecy about his mentor and Head Priest, Eli, which was not so good. (He was living in the Temple of the Lord with the Head Priest). Samuel, spills the beans after being coerced offensively by Eli (‘God will punish you ever so severely if you don’t tell me ’ is an offensive coercion in my books, people!). After Samuel tells Eli about God's wrath on both his sons which would result in their death because they were naughty and greedy, and how this would affect his whole house (which means his family and his lineage), Eli simply replies,
“HE IS THE LORD. HE WILL DO WHAT HE THINKS IS GOOD.”
In his remarkable answer to this seemingly awful death sentence, Eli acknowledged that the Lord had a right to do as He saw good, being assured that the Lord is Master and is perfect in all His ways. The complete relinquishing of all power and strength to God was really remarkable. Eli, accepted God's decision and in the darkest moment of his life, he gave reverence to God by deferring to Him. There was no pleading or bargaining for a change of heart. Eli feared the Lord and trusted Him and that is an admirable and desirable resolve.
Do you trust God to know and do what is best for you at all times, in every situation?
1. The Lord is always good
2. I have to trust in the goodness of the Lord
3. The Lord never makes a mistake or does anything wrong. He is always working things out for my good, even when it doesn't seem like it.
4. In order to be truly submitted to Him we have to let go of any selfishness, even in trials or rough patches
5. The Lord knows best and what is best, always and forever.
6. That I must learn to be more like Eli especially in troubled times; to desire God’s will, no matter the cost, over mine.
7. I must learn to be my brother, sister, mother, father, cousin, co-worker, church brethren, stranger’s keeper. For more often than not, the sins of those we do not caution or restrain might hurt us also in the long run.(Eli did not caution his sons and that is primarily why he had to bear the repercussions of his son's misbehaviour)
8. When it comes to God, it is all about ‘surrendering’ and that is what Eli did. He just, without missing a beat, gave the best possible answer in that situation..
LESSON LEARNT
May we be strengthened and given the grace to give it all up to God in every single circumstance we find ourselves in, and not relegate to negative thoughts and attitude in bad or sad situations.
God is just waiting for us to acknowledge Him, through the good and the bad. Once we master that skill, we give Him the power to release us of the stronghold of sadness, depression, worry, anxiety. Surely, as the 27th verse in 32nd chapter of Jeremiah declares ‘Is there anything too hard for me? For I am the Lord, the God of all the people of the world.’
Trust Him and believe that He is working it out for your good and for the good of all mankind. Be blessed.xoxo
“Father Lord, I thank You for Your word. I know that all Your ways are good and there is no shadow of turning with You. You are perfect, faithful, loving and kind. Help me to trust in You and Your faithful love and tender mercies all the days of my life. May I never dwell on what the world thinks or says but choose to trust in Your and Your words all the days of my life. I know you are ordering my steps and establishing the plans You have for me. Thank You Father, for I know nothing is ever too hard for you. In Jesus Christ my Lord’s name, I pray. Amen”