Maybe I Should Have Turned Around

Maybe I Should Have Turned Around

“But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.”  1 Samuel 8:6-8 (ESV)

I know that some of you may be experiencing the unpleasantness of Christmas shopping. Whether you are going after work or on the weekend, I am sure that the crowds along with the amount of money you could be spending has you feeling pretty beat up. I drive by the malls in my area I find that I sit in my truck and wait as I try to get from one town to another. And for those of you who may have to park the car at the local malls, you stand a good chance of making that hard turn into an available space to only find that there is a shopping cart ditched out of view in the space. And I can also let you in on something that I have recently found out…the real terror of shopping in the malls happens during the day.

I was browsing around an infamous store just the other day and was just taken back by a scene that has gotten me steamed. While going down the book aisle I had almost tripped over a display that was right in front of section where the Bible is sold. It was a display containing a series of books based on a popular vampire and werewolf television show which I believe has now gone into movie theaters. Made me shake my head and wonder what this store is trying to shove down the throats of its customers during the Christmas shopping season. And then it got me wondering about the customers of this store.

Do they really understand what this season really is about? Don’t they understand that Jesus Christ, the only one who can save them from this kind of evil, was born on the day that someone plans on giving one of these books to a loved one as a Christmas present? Hmm…It reminded me about a time where Samuel wasn’t being listened to by the nation of Israel. I imagined a crowd of people chanting…”We want a king…we want a king…we want a king.” I know this wasn’t the case, Samuel’s own sons chose not to walk in the same way their father did and it gave a foothold for compromise. That compromise came from watching the sons conduct themselves with a heart of perverted justice and greed so why not approach the prophet of God with an ultimatum, one that changes the nation of Israel forever.

 Samuel has to tell God that His people want a king because they won’t listen to him any more and God says it is not you but Me they don’t want to listen to so let them have a king. Then God instructs Samuel to tell the nation of Israel you are getting your king and here is what he will take from you. Saul is privately anointed king then has his moment of incomplete obedience by not killing the king of the Amalekites and when all is said and done the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. But it doesn’t end there does it? A little shepherd boy comes unto the scene and he takes on a bear, a lion then proclaims that this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them because he has defied the armies of the living God. David goes on to become the most revered king that Israel has ever had, a man after God’s own heart.

So as I walk away from this book display I gaze out at the store and look into the crowd and wonder if this is what they really want? A very fictional reality that can only led to destruction? At that moment I hear “Excuse me” and I move on. I do not look back to see if I was in the way of the display or just blocking the aisle but this moment has reinforced to me that Jesus is always the reason for any season and that I really don’t need to look at one day to acknowledge Him.

 Christmas is for everyone and it will be up to people like us, Christian, to tell the world what will happen to them when they lose sight of what it really took place on that night when a star appeared in the sky to guide the shepherds to a manger that held the true reality that they are looking for. Maybe I should have turned around. – Chris Hughes is a regular contributor to Freedom Fighter and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Digging Deeper: Proverbs 18; Obadiah; Revelation 9

Dig This Quote: “When outward distractions and a wayward imagination hinder you from having a peaceful inner life, then you must, by an act of will, bring yourself before God. Not that you can force yourself into God’s presence, but even the desire to come into God’s presence is, in itself, a powerful aid to your spirit. Cultivate a pure and upright intention toward God.” The Seeking Heart    Fenlon

Determined Digging: Level 1: John 15:16; Level 2: Matthew 7:7-11

Determined Praying: (continued from yesterday) Those who are disciples of the Lord Jesus should labor with all their might in the work of God as if everything depended upon their own endeavors. Yet, having done so, they should not in the least trust in their labor and efforts, nor in the means that they use for the spread of the truth, but in God alone; and they should with all earnestness seek the blessing of God in persevering, patient, and believing prayer. (continued tomorrow) George Muller