Rejecting God

I really like reading I Samuel. It has so many passages that I can relate to as a pastor. I must confess that some days I do not feel like I really have what it takes to be a pastor. I don't feel like a good leader or shepherd. I am sure God called me, but I just pray that I will be faithful to do His will with all of my shortcomings. I Samuel 8:7 relates to those feelings that I have at times. I try and try to get people to understand God's Word and His will for their lives, and they fail to obey. They go their own way. It is easy for me to take it personally and to feel that I have failed God in some way. That is how Samuel felt when Israel wanted a king. However, God assured him that the people had not rejected Samuel personally, but they had rejected Him. God was comforting Samuel, but at the same time, it must have made him very sad. To think that God's people would not follow their Perfect King, because they wanted an earthly king. That was a terrible choice. Samuel could see down the road. He knew what would happen, and God told him to tell the people the consequences of their choice, which he did. They still wanted their own way. I guess the moral of that story is that most believers want their own way, even though God's way is so much better. That is hard to imagine, but true. I pray that one day we will all see how much better it would be to accept God's way and live by it, no matter what we want.

Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 10-12 and Luke 9:37-62.