1 Samuel 8 records of the spaces at which the children of Israel pushed for their own agenda in a quest to match the rest of the nations.
They had unlimited access to goodness and direct preservation despite their choice of indulgence.
God had intentionally raised people over the periods of time to serve them.
Judges to bring insight and handle their needs.
Great leaders given to God to guide them through those seasons.
Prophets arisen and priests to serve His people but no! It wasn’t enough for them.
The children of Israel had one main focus, they wanted to match the rest of the nations.
They wanted to fit in like the rest or maybe just seem like they were in tandem on life’s journey as their counterparts.
Not considering the loss of all that was to be of their intimate leadership system.
Better yet, they wanted it so bad that the consequences didn’t ring a bell before their indulgence.
They lost their identity in the quest to fit in.
It reminds me of the prodigal son parable, having forfeited all that came with his position in the quest of short term gains. Their restlessness leading to pursuit in their own strength rather than thriving in the provided grace.
As I disgress..
Papa’s attributes are in full display as He expresses the realities of the Israelites’ choice for a king yet it bore no conviction in them.
You see, the choice to keep Israel under His reign wasn’t out of wanting them to miss out on the supposedly given highlights that marked the journey down here.
He was preserving them from the tyranny and corruption that came with having another human being take supremacy over them.
It was God expressing His loving nature over a people He had selected for Himself.
He was protecting them from the manipulation and exploitation that was their desired rulership.
I get the Israelites for sure, I do, as their standpoint wasn’t a foreign place to this Missy. Only difference being, my strong-willed nature wasn’t out for a king but change in certain spaces over my life that had me feeling like I’d been in stagnation for too long.
The demeanor in question was the readiness to chase after alternatives in a quest for progress before resigning to what seemingly felt like a sealed outcome.
The end result to that emotional cocktail was a surmountable level of frustration raising its ugly head time to time.
It took Papa constantly getting me to the end of self that I realized my quests spelt doom.
This girl’s default setting being flight, I needed an anchor that brought rest.
Does it mean we are at zero need to pursue alternate options at this point?
Not yet! Far from it 😂.
However, there’s a reduction in that urge having learnt that His ways outdo ours.
I have pursued my own ways in the quest for supposed progress over the past decade enough times to recognize that path when it comes calling for me.
What they don’t tell you is that each encounter leaves a tinge behind that stops you on your tracks at the thought of another quest.
Nevertheless, my biggest lesson was learning to lean in for that 20/20 vision which is the extra we receive by being aligned with the Vine.
This was the 360 I needed to sit still and revel in the now trusting that Papa has every bit of my life figured out.
Through the course of it:
I have learnt to seek His leading before proceeding.
I have learnt to walk away when He asked me to.
I have learnt to drop it quickly upon His disapproval of it.
I have learnt not hold onto things too tightly because they weren’t mine to begin with.
I have learnt to travel light, easy to be redirected by Him.
I have learnt to rest even in the plenty of unknowns as He has it figured out.
I have learnt a renewed honesty in interaction with Him as He was always willing to indulge me in what I needed to know for those seasons.
I have learnt to hear Him out without my heart filters as it saves much ache and frustration.
I have learnt to water my grass and grow where He has me planted as He remains to be the One with the 20/20 insight.
I have learnt to work through the tangles He would jolt me to, as it always led to the upgrade of an aspect of my living.
I have learnt to trust:
Even when I can’t see.
Even when I can’t wrap my head around it.
Even when my strength is failing.
Even I’m ready to call it quits.
Even when I’m out and under.
I have learnt, above everything else to take Papa at His word:
He promises to instruct our hearts in the deep of the night and that remains to be my prayer every evening before turning in.
So cash in that self serving pursuit and chose to work with the One who knows it all.
Hugs and kisses.
HIGHCARBLIVING 