Who We Reject

Transcript

Hello, my friend… welcome to another day. This is By God's Call — day 82, Who We Reject.

"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.'" 1 Samuel 8:7.

Let this scene arrive slowly.

Samuel was already old. His sons, whom he had appointed as judges, had gone crooked — corrupt, without justice. And the elders of Israel came to him with a direct demand: "Give us a king, like all the other nations have." Imagine Samuel's heart in that moment. A whole lifetime of serving, listening, judging with integrity — and now the people come and say they want something else. It must have stung. It must have felt like personal rejection.

And that is exactly where God does something I need you to hear carefully: before He answers anything about the request itself, He comforts Samuel. He says: it is not you they have rejected. It is me. God takes the rejection onto Himself before He deals with the practical matter at hand. He shields His servant's wounded heart first.

But look at what that sentence reveals. Israel's request looked, on the surface, like a matter of government — of political structure, of military organization, of national security. "We need a king to go before us in battle, like the other nations have." It sounds reasonable, doesn't it? But God sees past the surface. He sees that underneath, this request was a matter of the heart. Israel wasn't asking for a king simply because the system of judges had failed. They were asking because they wanted something visible, something tangible, something like everyone around them had. They wanted to trade God's invisible reign for a throne they could see and point to.

And God says something even more revealing: this isn't new. It is the same pattern since Egypt — the people trading Him, again and again, for something visible. A golden calf. A flesh-and-blood king. The temptation to swap God for something the eyes can confirm didn't start that day. It is old. And if we're honest, it still lives in us.

So what does God do? He doesn't stop it. He tells Samuel: grant the people's request. Even knowing it was a drift of the heart, even knowing the cost it would carry — kings who would oppress, taxes that would burden, wars that would consume generations — God allowed it. Because His sovereignty includes this: allowing us to choose, even when the choice will hurt. He does not force our loyalty. He wants it freely given.

My friend, this story isn't only about ancient kings. It's about us. How often do we prefer something visible — a plan of our own making, a control we can hold in our hands, a security the world recognizes — over trusting the invisible but very real presence of God reigning over our lives? How often, without realizing it, do our choices say: I want to be like everyone else, I want something I can see?

Today, before breakfast, I want to invite you to examine the throne of your own life. Take a piece of paper and write: where have I been preferring visible control over trusting God? It might be a financial decision. It might be a relationship. It might be the way you try to secure your own future without asking Him. Write it honestly. And then, in prayer, hand it back to God. Tell Him: I want you to actually reign over this.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.