True King, lost people | Anchored in Hope Devotions

As a human characteristic, there’s a tendency to put hope, strength, and/or trust in the things and people around us. We are able to see these things, we’re able to touch them, smell them, and understand that they are real! However, it is not correct to put ALL of our hope, strength, and/or trust in these things.

In 1 Samuel 8, the Israelites demanded that Samuel appoint a king for them.

1 Samuel 8:6 “But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us like all the nations.' And Samuel prayed to the Lord.”

But what’s so awful about having a king? All the other nations had kings ruling over

them. The Israelites wanted somebody to rule over them and protect them from opposing armies. God tells Samuel to obey the voice of the people and give them a king but first warns them about it. The people of Israel ignore the voice of Samuel when he warns them about what the king will do to them. Finally, in the next couple of chapters, we can see exactly what’s wrong with Israel seeking a king:

1 Samuel 12:12 “‘And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us’, when the Lord your God was your king.’”

The Israelites had a King to judge them, they had a King to deliver them, they had a King to reign over them, but they were seeking to put their hope, strength, and trust in a different king. They denied God as the King of Israel and sought after a man to reign over them instead. Do you see God as the King of your life? When battles and tribulations arise in your life, do you see God as the King to deliver you from those battles? It’s easy for us to turn towards other things, just as the Israelites did, and forget that we already have a King that we can trust in. We already have a King stronger than all that exists. We have a King to reign over our hearts, and that is the only thing worthy of anchoring our hope in!

- Issac Zwirn