Today’s Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:1-22; John 14:15
God has given man a free will—an ability to make choices, going all the way back to Adam and Eve. While they were in control of the garden of Eden, they were cautioned not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The precaution was given—If you eat of it, you will surely die—but the choice was theirs. And, we all know how that turned out, don’t we?
Personally, I love the fact that the Lord has given us the freedom to choose, because it’s an opportunity for us to show Him our love and respect. Jesus told His disciples, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Dr. Henry Blackaby says if we have a problem following the will of the Lord, we don’t have an obedience problem—we have a love problem.
God’s will for Israel was that they be set apart from other countries. While other nations had kings, the Lord Himself wanted to be Israel’s One and Only. However, knowing human nature’s tendency to want to blend in, He instructed Moses about what to do if and when the time came the Israelites begged for a king (see Deut. 17:14-15).
I wonder how much it saddens the Lord that throughout history, man has preferred permission rather than perfection pertaining to obeying His will.
- What challenges you about completely surrendering to God’s will? How have you compromised?
- How does a person need to change in order to accept the Lord as His One and Only?