And He Gave Them What They Wanted...

Sometimes, we get exactly what we ask for.

I am reminded today of the story of the first king of Israel. Since someone reading this might not know the story, I am going to include the passage of this event from I Samuel 8:1-22 (NIV version)

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges forIsrael. The name of the firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, "You are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."


When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered, "Listen to them and give them a king

This story has been on my mind a lot the last couple of days. It strikes me
as eerily similar to what we, the people of this country, are going through.

Some, like Samuel, hear the cries of the crowds for "change" and a new leader and recognize it for what it is...a rejection of the traditional principles that have successfully governed our country and the whole-hearted acceptance, despite the dire warnings, of something new...desiring to be just like the rest of the world.

Those of us who recognize the danger of choosing someone like Obama have been trying so hard to warn others that this modern-day king will not be what they hoped for. Instead, he will ultimately make things much harder for them. And because of all the hardship that he imposes, eventually the people will cry out to be rescued, but it may very well be too late. This is what the people wanted, and sometimes, God gives us EXACTLY what we ask for, even when He knows it will not be good, simply because He knows we have rejected Him and will no longer listen.

I believe that day came yesterday.

The majority of people got precisely what they have clamored for. The majority wanted Obama to be our leader. They put all their faith and trust in this man and they now expect him to fix all their problems, simply because he said the things they wanted to hear. Never mind that absolutely no earthly leader could fix those problems, the majority chose to trust in a man, so God gave them a man....and they will get that which they asked for.

However, it would be wise for the majority to remember that the words of God, to the people of Israel, when they begged Him for an earthly, physical leader. When a nation rejects it's Godly foundation and principles, the human leaders will be free to reign as they see fit and it won't be pretty. There will be taxes and war and pain and suffering and servitude. We will be BEGGING to be rescued, and God will no longer listen (for a time) because He tried to warn us. But we didn't listen.

The bright side of this story is that, just as with Israel, God is patient and loving and kind. He will probably choose to let us wallow in our own self-inflicted misery for a while, but He will not leave us alone, and if we humble ourselves and repent and change our ways, turning back to Him, then He will heal our land and deliver us from our bondage.

But as I always think when I read about the Israelites and their habit of turning away from God time and again, only to find themselves in deep doo-doo, wouldn't it have just been easier if they'd listened to God the first time?

And finally, to those who might be reading this and thinking...I DIDN't vote for Obama, but now I'm going to suffer along with those who did. Remeber that God is still in control and that He does not forget His children or abandon them. The words of the following hymn are a comfort to me, when I get discouraged, so I'll leave them for you:

Be still my soul; the Lord is on thy side.

Bear patiently the cross of grief or shame.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change, He faithful will remain.

Be still my soul, thy best, they heavenly friend,

Through thorny ways, leads to a joyful end.

Be still my soul; thy God doth undertake

to guide the future, as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

all now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still my soul, the waves and winds still know,

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.