1 Samuel 16 -- Making Our Choices God's Choices

Every time I read this chapter, I think back to July, 2005, when my older son and I were in Kiev, Ukraine, about to adopt his brother.  As I flipped through the photos of available boys, I saw my younger son's picture.  He was clearly the handsomest boy there.  I immediately liked him, but remembered what God said to Samuel as he met each of Jesse’s older sons – men look at the outside, but God looks at the heart.  I flipped through the remaining files to be sure God wasn’t pointing someone else out to me, then returned to his photo again, and I silently prayed for God to guide me, and the rest is history.

 

What struck me this morning was that Samuel, the spiritual leader of Israel, was afraid of the assignment God had given him, because he and Saul were now estranged and he feared that Saul’s suspicious nature would cause him to harm Samuel if he knew why Samuel was traveling to Bethlehem.  God reassured him and gave him a valid excuse for the trip – a fellowship offering for a select group of people, my commentary said.

 

Once Samuel arrived, even the town elders were antsy, worried that nay actions by Samuel might bring Saul’s wrath down on them.

 

As Samuel reviewed Jesse’s sons, thinking each one would make a fine king, he was dismayed as God kept saying, “No” about each one.  Surely he hadn’t misunderstood God!  So he asked the obvious question – “Are these all of your sons?”  “David was so insignificant in the family that Jesse didn’t even call him from the flock to the feast,” my commentary said.  In fact, he didn’t even say David’s name – just that the youngest was with the sheep.  Yet David was the man God had chosen, and with his anointing by Samuel, the Spirit of God came upon him in great power, but also departed from Saul forever.  The people had chosen their first king, but God had chosen their second king.

 

Because our hearts are sinful and can make mistakes, I didn’t want to trust my own as I became a father through adoption.  I asked God to pick my sons for me, and with great assurance, He did just that.  Even with the smallest decisions, we can’t do better than to ask God’s guidance.

 

Father, You have proven Yourself faithful and wise over the millennia, and I thank You for building up my own trust and faith in You for the decisions in my own life.  Please help me to build up that same faith in the lives of my sons, leading them to know that You are faithful and trustworthy and capable of leading them in all of their decisions.  Let them lean not on their own understanding, but to depend solely upon You.

 

Your Brother In Christ,