Charles in Charge?

When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was chosen. Finally Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?"
And the LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage." 1 Samuel 10: 20-22

Come on man…

But you know what, much like Gideon, I feel him. He didn’t ask for this. He didn’t put his name in the hat for the “Who Wants to be the First King of Israel Sweepstakes.” So what that he is a foot taller than everyone in Israel and that the ladies like him. Are those the necessary qualifications to be King?

Not likely.

It is really interesting to see the subtle juxtaposition here. Up to this point Israel followed God through devout people of God. Whether it was Moses, Deborah, and Gideon; the people who led Israel always lead through divine inspiration.

There was a problem, God told them out to fix it, they did what God said, and the problem was fixed. So in this way God remained the focal point, the true King

But now Israel wants to be led by a man. And the man that is chosen runs and hides from the responsibility.

What I see here is a continuation of the recurring question… who’s in charge? Is God in charge? Are you in charge? Or is some other person in charge of your life.

I know that some of us might feel that they are perfectly happy being the ones in charge of their own lives. But as for me… ehhh… Not sure about all of that.

When I think about all of the dreams that I have and the things I want to accomplish I have no idea where to start. I have no idea how to open the doors or even where to look to find them. I’m not even sure I truly know what is best for my life.

So I trust God.

What trusting God does for me is relieve a whole lot of stress. It allows me to stay in the present. I can focus way more of my energy on the next step that I need to take rather than devoting some of that energy to an undetermined future.

And last time I checked, staying in the present was never a bad move.

Of course I’m no fool… I do look at the future for some things. I have a budget, I schedule my life to death, I have outlined certain plans and goals that I’d like to accomplish in the next five years.

But ultimately I focus on what I can control. And what I can control are the actions I take right now. The only way I can feel comfortable doing this is by having faith that God will lead me into tomorrow so that I can handle it as today.

Today’s Reading: 1 Samuel 10-12; Luke 9:37-62