Friday, December 20, 2013

I Samuel 16:13 It's not about you.

 

Read I Samuel 16
So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees;[a] for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down[b] till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

This is another popular passage of which a lot of us are familiar, but few of us really believe in our heart. How do I know that? Well, in my day, ( I can't believe I am old enough to say that) people used to say things like "Man, if only Madonna would get saved, wouldn't that be awesome?? Think of all the things she could do!!" These days, people might say the same thing about Lady Gaga. Oh wow, if she got saved, we could change the whole world!! Please. Don't ever say this. It's the exact opposite of the entire theme of the Bible. Saul is a rare case in the Bible where the tall dark and handsome guy, the one everyone would have chosen, was also chosen by God. And it didn't end well.  David, was the last one anyone thought of for a candidate for king.

This is such good news for us. God, our creator, is in the business of making something from nothing. A king out of a shepherd boy. Moses- a leader out of a coward. Samuel- a prophet from a woman no one thought would have conceive.  Paul the apostle , once a killer of Christians. None of us would have chosen these that God had destined. Really. I mean, when was the last time you heard someone say, "Ya know who would make a great evangelist? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."  But that was pretty close to the reputation Paul had, except toward Christians instead of Jews.

I hear people say all the time, "Oh, you home school? You must be so organized." Or "Oh, you have all those children, you must be a really patient person, I could never do that," But the truth is no, I am not naturally organized (right now my husband is reading this nodding his head.) and by nature, I am not patient. That is not to say I have not grown in these areas, because I certainly have. But whenever you think "I could never do that" remember the God you serve, and look out! It is never about what we can do for Him, it is always what He can do through us. This is actually another area where pride sneaks in. We tend to think, "oh I can do that, but not that." But how do we do anything? Only through He who strengthens us.

I pray today that we would feel the strengthening of the Holy Spirit in our lives to do the impossible, whatever that is. For me, today the impossible feels like laundry or cleaning my room, or  staying focused. For others, it could be starting a business, changing jobs, caring for a sick loved one, grieving a lost loved one, caring for the ungrateful, I just know that all of us feel that stuck feeling sometimes.. You've got the wrong girl, Lord, I just can't. But know this my friend. It was never about us. He knows you can't do it. He can. Let go and trust. Meditate on those scriptures that tell us why we can!

I Corinthians 1: 26Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29so that no one can boast in His presence.30But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became God-given wisdom for us — our righteousness sanctification, and •redemption, 31in order that, as it is written:The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

4 comments:

  1. My favorite so far. Such a great perspective. And awesome encouragement for his weary Mom. Oh, and I'm so impressed with your ability to spell mackmood abdinnijab.

    Love from one of your Little Monsters,
    Julie

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    1. Ha! Thanks for your constant encouragement :) you know I just googled that!

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  2. letting go and letting God, hard to do at times. But knowing that HE will give us his strength keeps me going.

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