I was cleaning up dinner and remembered we had ice cream sandwiches in our freezer. I quietly said to Randy “I think we have ice cream sandwiches in the freezer downstairs!” and of course little ears Peyton replied “I want one! What’s an ice cream sandwich?!” The conversation continued like this….
“An ice cream sandwich?”, I asked hoping we even had any.
“Yea!!” the smile spreading across his face as he merely heard the word ice cream!
“Hmmm…an ice cream sandwich….you take two pieces of bread, put mayonnaise on one slice and mustard on the other. Then you put 3 scoops of ice cream on, sandwich them together and there you have it, an ice cream sandwich!”
As you can imagine his face turned from pure excitement to an uneasy smile. Peyton likes his actual sandwiches plain. No mustard, no mayo, no ketchup, not even cheese. So I asked him if he still wanted one and again he assured me he did. I wondered if he’d actually taste the mustard thinking it would go well with ice cream, so I got the mustard out!
“All right, you can have one, but make sure you like mustard first. Stick out your finger and try a little.”
Up came his finger and out came the mustard. Of course Jayden wanted to try some as well so I put a squirt on her finger. The bad thing about this was we didn’t have any regular mustard, all we had was “Spicy Brown Mustard” which even Randy, who loves mustard, does not like.
“Yuuuuuckkkkk!” Peyton said. Each of their faces turned about every way one face could turn and their tongues’ came out. It was quit a sight to be seen! Randy and I laughed and Randy asked if he still wanted an ice cream sandwich.
“Yes, but Mom, I don’t want any mustard on mine.” With such a sweet answer I couldn’t help but feel bad for making him taste the mustard, after all, I myself don’t even like mustard!
Thankfully, we did have ice cream sandwiches, no mustard, no mayo, just chocolate and ice cream!
Read 1 Samuel 8:1-22. In these verses the people of Israel are demanding they have a king like the other nations. Samuel went to the Lord and this displeased God because it was not in His will for them. God told Samuel to warn them and tell them what would happen if a king came to rule over them. Samuel did so, warning them in verses 11-18 of various this including the taking of their sons to be horsemen, taking of daughters to serve him, the taking of their fields, flocks, etc.
“Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, No! We will have a king over us” vs. 19
The people had their sights set on one thing and one thing only - a king. They didn’t take into consideration all the bad things that they were warned would come along with having one. They knew they wanted a king and a king is what they would have no matter the cost. They weren’t concerned with God’s will, they were focused on themselves and what they wanted. God warned the people of what having a king would do to them but they insisted so look at verse 22:
“And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to their voice and appoint them a king.”
Self-centeredness is what drove them and interestingly enough that’s exactly what they got - a self-centered king named Saul, I don’t think that was a coincidence on God’s part!
If you’re wondering what came of this, read on and you will find out that they got their king and all that went along with it! Skip ahead and look at this verse for a glimpse of just how bad this had turned out for them:
“Saul said, I have sinned; yet honor me now, I pray you, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 1 Samuel 15:30
Here Saul is repenting to the Lord but still is concerned about how he will look to others. He asks God to honor him before the elders and before Israel. This is not true heart-felt repentance, this is more of a petition to look better among the people. When even before God Saul is self-centered, do you think when acting as king over the people he had their best interest in mind or his own? I hope your noticing the pattern of self-centeredness.
Peyton heard ice cream and wanted ice cream no matter what came with it, good or bad. How often do we see something someone else has and think “I want that! It looks good!” then pray to God to give it to us?! Just because that thing works for someone else does not mean it will work for us or that we ourselves are even capable of handling it. This is true in many circumstances whether it be someone’s ability to preach or a friend’s new house. We need to be on our guard against wanting what others have. When we pray to God to deliver these things into our lives we are setting ourselves up for failure. By focusing on what others around you have, you are focusing on what you want, not what God has for you. Pray for God’s will to be done in your life and for Him to show you the way in which you should go. When you’re in His will, far greater things are in store for you than anything you could imagine for yourself!
No comments:
Post a Comment