Wayne Weekly “We Demand a King…or the Correct Lawn Sign!”
Written by Teddy on November 7, 2016
I read just today in my devotional time 1 Samuel chapter 8. That passage tells of how the elders of Israel came to Samuel in his old age and asked Samuel to appoint a king for Israel. The reasons for not holding to the status quo, Samuel’s sons (who were judges) did not walk in the way of Samuel “but turned aside for gain” and “They took bribes and perverted justice.”
That certainly seems like a valid reason not to want things handed over to Samuel’s sons or someone under their influence. But reading on, the real reason it seems, is that the elders wanted to be like “all the nations”.
Samuel was displeased and went to the Lord in prayer. The Lord answered by telling old 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.” God went on to tell Samuel to warn the people what price they would pay for being under a human king and how Israel would suffer. This was serious.
Well, the rest is history. We read over and over again how that decision by Israel caused heartaches, defeats, sufferings and more in the years ahead.
As Christians living in the United States, we are not under a king, nor are we a theocracy like Israel was. We elect people to govern over us. The future of our country rests, humanly speaking, in the hands of the electorate. However, we must remember that God is sovereign;
He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:11
I don’t know how that all works, I just know that God is sovereign and appoints who He wills to accomplish His purposes. Does God respond to our prayers when we ask Him to appoint a leader we feel best represents our Christian values? Of course He can. But again, He is sovereign, and we’re to pray for the will of God to be done. That’s the bottom line.
We may be happy, or may be unhappy about the results of this year’s presidential outcome. No one says we have to be exuberant over God’s plan. He is God, and there is no other! We just need to accept His will as part of His divine plan and understand that God is on His throne no matter what.
So, fellow believer, whatever the election result, that we will live with, and the lawn sign we should now and forever display should be “Hail to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords…hail to Jesus!”
