Author: LesliRobersonBlog

I love to study the word of God.  I am always fascinated that something written so long ago can still speak such truth into my life today. As I continue my study in the book of 1 Samuel, I am particularly thankful for fresh revelation.

Do you ever look at the people around you and find yourself envying the life that you see them living?  With the availability of social media, I find myself doing this more now than ever.   What I forget is that what I see is only a glimpse of the total picture.  In movie terms I guess the things that we see on social media are most accurately compared to watching a movie trailer. We are only gazing upon the highlights.

I love what Dr. Henrietta Mears has to say about God’s gifts to us.  Dr. Mears says “God will give us the best we will take.”  When I read this I really had to stop and think.  What gifts have I missed simply because I have settled for less, or better yet what gifts have I missed because I prayed for my life to look like that of someone else?

Reading 1 Samuel made things ever so clear to me.  I am, in many ways, like the Israelites.   The Israelites examined the lives of the nations that surrounded them, became dissatisfied, and determined that they too needed a king to rule over them.  They became angry that the other nations appeared to have something that they  did not.

What the Israelites failed to realize was that the absence of a king  was actually God’s gift to them.  God had set them apart and he was to be their king.  God sent Samuel to warn  the Israelites but they refused to listen  and insisted on having their own way.  Did God deny their request simply because it was not in their best interest? No, God gave them the king that they desired, he gave them King Saul.  It is interesting to note how many times 1 Samuel 8:11-17 repeats  “He will take.”  God made it undeniably clear that Saul would be a taker.  He would take many things from the Israelites to include their sons, daughter, and fields to mention only a few.  The very thing they demanded was going to rob from them many of the blessings that God had so freely provided.

The appointing of Saul as king makes it clear that God will often give us what we pray for even if it isn’t his best for us.  Do you long to be like those around you, or are you willing to be set apart?  What are you asking God for that may not be the best that he has for you?  Let us remember that the kingdom of God is not like Burger King and WE May Not want it our way!  Submitting to God’s perfect will is often difficult, but it remains the place of God’s greatest blessing!  May we be ever mindful that our Father in Heaven desires to give us his best if only we will receive it.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

God’s timing is something that I simply cannot wrap my mind around.  Even at my age it is a concept that evades me.  Perhaps it is because I continually try to understand it with my human mind.  Currently, I find myself in one of the biggest struggles ever in this area.  For a couple of years now the Lord has been dealing with my husband and I regarding his job.  While it has provided well for our family, it has also consumed ninety percent of his time, leaving little room for family or ministry.

So we did what every “good Christian” does.  We prayed.  After months of prayer, we had the answer we had been praying for.  God made it clear to us that he was to leave his job.  While this was very exciting in one aspect, it was terrifying in another.  Our financial well-being had depended on this job for almost 30 years.  What were we going to do?

In obedience to the Lord’s leading, my husband retired from his job.  I would like to tell you that  every thing has worked out perfectly since then, that God has given us all of the answers and made our path clear, but nothing could be further from the truth. We have faced many financial set backs and God has not yet made clear the exact path that he has for us.  Because I am far from perfect, this has caused me to question God’s timing and purpose. I have devised many plans in my own mind knowing full well that they were not of the Lord.

As I was praying and asking the Lord to give me the faith to be obedient even when I cannot see the full picture, he lead me to the book of 1 Samuel.  Not to a story that I am unfamiliar with, but rather to one with which I am extremely familiar.  A story that I have heard many times.  He led me to the story of Hannah.  Hannah loved the Lord and desperately wanted a child.  In 1 Samuel 1:5 we see that “the Lord had shut up her womb.”  Did Hannah serve a cruel God who sought to withhold from her the very thing that her heart desired?  I’m quite sure that Hannah was tempted to believe this lie of the enemy but scripture tells us how she CHOSE to handle it instead.

Hannah, in her barrenness, continued to worship and cry out to the Lord. She served him faithfully, choosing to honor him, all the while  sharing with him her hearts desire.  In 1 Samuel 1:20 we see that Hannah conceived and bare a son, and called his name Samuel.  Did God give Samuel to Hannah because she had finally prayed hard enough for him?

On the contrary, God opened the womb of Hannah at the perfect time because in his infinite wisdom the master architect knew that the nation of Israel would need Samuel at a specific time in history for a specific purpose. Samuel played a pivotal role in the history of the nation of Israel.

Because God is not a respecter of persons we can trust and believe that he is working and moving in our lives in the same manner.  He will give us what we need in his perfect timing. Our job is to commit and submit our plans to his will for our lives.  Not only did God bless Hannah with Samuel, we also see that “the Lord visited Hannah and she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters.  God blessed her above and beyond, but not on her timeline!  God blessed Hannah and made her path clear on the timeline pre-designed by his master design.

What are you praying for today?  What answers have eluded you and made you begin to question God’s timing?  It is of interesting note that one translation of the name Samuel means “God has heard.”   Samuel’s very name gives testament to the fact that God is listening to our petitions.  As you wait for God’s master plan to unfold in your life, I encourage you to remember Hannah.  Hannah’s story is a constant reminder to us all that God has not forgotten us and that his answers to us are always right on time!

Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Do you find your self-worth being tossed to and fro with every whim of emotion?  Do the negative words that have been spoken to you, or about you, haunt you and replay over and over again in your head?  If so, you may have bought into the idea that you are a pickle!

Let me explain.  If I were to continually bring accusations against you calling you a pickle, I’m quite sure that you would do nothing more than laugh, shrug me off, and dismiss me as being crazy.  Why?  Because you know for a fact that you are NOT a pickle!  You know the difference between a human being and a pickle! Then why do you so readily believe things about yourself that are equally as preposterous?  Why do you so readily believe that you will never amount to anything, that no one will ever want you, or better yet that you can never be used by God?

Could it be that somewhere along this road we call life you have aligned  your thought processes with those who have spoken lies and untruths into your spirit? Have you allowed the hurt and pain of these words to snuff out the real you, leaving that person  buried somewhere deep beneath the lies?  Like the pickle analogy, if you were convinced that you were beautiful, handsome, intelligent, wanted, worthy, and deserving of love there is no one on this earth that could convince you otherwise!

If you have fallen into the trap of allowing the lies of others to convince you that you are someone that you are not, let me encourage you  to embrace God’s word and what he says about who you are!  When you are tempted to believe what the enemy is saying about you remind him and yourself that You are not a Pickle!

Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”