God anoints us all and he even blesses us with certain things but that doesn’t mean he can’t take his blessings away
We all know the story about God leading the Israelites away from bondage and into the promise land. However, the focus of this message is on a later part of the Israelites story which speaks about Israel’s first ruler. There was no real reason for the Israelites to have a king since God was their ruler and is their creator, but because the Israelites pleaded to be like the other nations God decided to give them a king and sent the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as ruler over Israel. King Saul started out as a good King and If you read his story we know that God sent him to go fight against many nations and accompanied King Saul and his army during each battle which allowed them to be victorious. One of the nations God sent King Saul to overtake were the Amalekites. The difference with the battle against the Amalekites and the other battles was that it required Saul to be obedient to God’s instructions pertaining to the Amalekites. The Lord told Saul not to take anything from the Amalekites after defeating them and he also instructed Saul to kill them all. God helped King Saul win the fight against the Amalekites but Saul did not follow the rules God gave him. Saul brought back some things from the land of the Amalekites and he also spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15 7-9). Due to Saul’s disobedience, God decided that Saul was no longer fit to lead Israel and told Samuel to anoint David as king.
Do you see how God put king Saul in a high place and how easily he was able to take him out of that place?
There are two things to take away from that story: Obedience and Patience
Obedience:
First, you must see and understand how God intended to bless king Saul. God was going to make king Saul just as big as David was if he had just listened and obeyed. God understood and had a reason as to why he instructed King Saul not to take anything back with him to Israel. It could’ve even been because God was trying to test king Saul’s obedience or because the nation they were fighting possessed a lot of things that were offered up their gods but we’ll never know. King Saul, however, couldn’t fully submit to God’s instructions and therefore lost his blessings.
When Samuel questioned king Saul about disobeying God he stated that the animals they brought back to Israel were supposed to be offered up to God as a sacrifice. Then Samuel asked him if making sacrifices to God was more important than listening to him (1 Samuel 15)? This right here is one of the most important lines taken out of the Bible, obedience is more valuable to God than sacrifice because through our obedience we allow God to lead us where he wants us to go and we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us.
It’s so easy for us as Christians today, to look at King Saul and wave our fingers and judge but then you’d be a hypocrite. How many times has God given you a blessing with instructions and you didn’t listen? I know what you might be saying, God has never given me a blessing with instructions but what if he has? God may have blessed you by giving you a certain title in the church. He didn’t just give you that title so that you could do whatever you desired. He gave you that title so that you can obey his will for your life. Most importantly, God gave you that title with the responsibility of taking care of and feeding his bride (the church) his word. He gave you that title so that you can prepare the church for the second coming. That church title will not save you or guarantee that God blesses you if you are not following the voice of God and being obedient. Jesus Christ tells us in the gospel that when he returns many people will come to him stating that they did wonders in his name and he will tell them to depart from him because he does not know them (Matthew 7: 21-23). You may have been praying without a days rest for a child and suddenly God has blessed you with a child. Being a parent comes with instructions, the word tells us to teach our children in the way that they should go and they shall never depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). You are obligated by God to teach that child right and wrong and to teach that child the word. He also tells fathers not to provoke their children to anger so that they aren’t discouraged (Colossians 3: 21). He can take that child away from you with the blink of an eye. Maybe God has blessed you with a hand in marriage. He tells men and women what they’re obligated to do in that marriage (read Proverbs 31, to know what a virtuous woman is and Colossians 3 verses 18-25 for the instructions for the Christian household; see marriage blog for more details on marriage). The point is that when God elevates you and puts you in a place of leadership, whether you are a pastor, a husband, or a wife you have to follow the voice of God and the instructions that are tied with those blessings.
We’re always praying to receive something from God but are we ready for the instructions tied to those blessings? Take the time to really think about this. You can’t pray to be something or to be in a higher position without understanding what that position requires in God’s eyes. If you’re not following the instructions, God could easily take those blessings away. That’s not to say that every blessing comes with instructions because we all know that God gives us the desires of our hearts and sometimes he just blesses us because we are his children, but we have to be able to understand that when God puts us in a certain position we should listen to his lead. If we’re not meeting his standards we can lose it all.
That beautiful house God has given you can burn down tomorrow, that car God has given you can breakdown this very second, that beautiful spouse God has given you could be snatched up by the “roaring lion” (devil), you have to look at the blessings in your life and see how God intends for you to use them. The only way you can do this is if you open up your bible and learn. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the things that you struggle with and pray to God for knowledge and wisdom. If you read Matthew 5 verses 3-11, you will learn who the blessed people are what they did to be blessed and how they are blessed. God has a certain order to things and he’s all knowing so if he’s leading you somewhere he has a reason and he knows where you’ll end up, just start following him. It’s quick and easy to blame all of your shortcomings on the devil but have you ever just stopped to think about how God intended on you to do something? Anything the devil does to us has to be approved by God first, so when something is not going right you need to seek God.
Patience:
The second thing to learn from King David’s’ story is that when God says something will come to pass, it will come to pass. God told David that he would be king and no matter how much King Saul tried to attack him and prevent it from happening, David still became king (1 Samuel 19:1-6). David, however, had to be patient, he had to wait on the Lord to put him in that position. During the wait, David endured many hardships, King Saul plotted against him, he was ridiculed by his loved ones when Samuel came to give him his anointing, and he was also doubted by his family. Through all of that, he was still patient and he did not move until God gave him the way to the throne. He had the measure of faith and God’s word did come to pass. He did not have to steal the throne or prove to everyone that God had anointed him as King all he had to do was wait and let God lead him.
I know it’s hard to be patient and to keep your temper while you’re waiting. I know from first-hand experience the doubts that may come against you, the people that might judge you, or ridicule you but stay strong. Don’t move until God clears the path for you or until God is done working on you. Be still and know that he is God and his words will always come to pass. It does not matter what your mother says, or what your father says, or what your close friend says. It definitely does not matter what the enemy says. The enemy will try to place doubts in your head but when he does you tell Satan to get behind you just as Christ did when the devil was trying to tempt him. All that matters is what God said he’s going to do, your faith and patience, and how long it takes you to allow him to lead you.
There will come a time where all those people who doubted you, all those people who ridiculed you, and mocked you will see the glory of God in your life. Maybe God might even use the work he’s done in your life to bring those same people closer to him. God stated that no weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). So it does not matter how the enemy tries to get you off the path that leads you to the blessings that God has prepared for you, he will not prosper. Psalm 23 tells us, “ He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies” and God’s word will come to pass. The hole that your enemies have planted for your destruction will be the same hole they end up falling in (Psalm 7:15). Just be still and know that he is God. It’s so important that you get into your word because God has so much he wants you to know and so much to tell you.
If we could just have the measure of faith that David had if we could just learn self-discipline and patience like David, our blessings from God would be that much sweeter. Not to say David was perfect because just like us he was human and fell short of God’s glory, but he was obedient and patient.
Choose today to tune into the instructions that God has given you so that you might find favor in God’s eyes. Let no one intimidate you when it comes to what God has said about you according to his living word, the bible.
Be blessed!