Understanding Submission to God's Will

Scripture: Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. 2 Samuel 5:3

Observation: Upon the death of Saul, Judah accepted David as the anointed king, but all the other tribes followed Ishbosheth, Saul's surviving son. Ishbosheth is murdered, and it is out of this that the tribes of Israel come to David to anoint him king.

When Israel first wanted a king, their priest Samuel anointed Saul, and after this a lot was drawn and Saul was accepted. Samuel then anointed David as his successor, and despite all of David's success in battle and loyalty to the king and kingdom the majority of Israel rejected him in favor of a "traditional kingly lineage." Ishbosheth wasn't even really the heir, Jonathan would have been had he survived.

The people of Israel ignore God's laws, requiring the divine appointment of judges. Then they want a king, rejecting God's plan for leadership. Then they reject his process of appointing a king, opting for a God-controlled lottery instead of a holy anointing. Then they reject any process, desiring to follow a royal lineage. (Interestingly, they will later reject David's royal lineage decreed by God, opting for a random process.) Over and over, Israel accepts God's will only when their choice has been ... proven disastrous, manipulated to produce God's outcome anyway, or completely eliminated. They ask God for help in their situation, then rebel against his solution until that solution is the only way left.

Application: There are millions of people praying that the Lord will address the racial tension in our nation right now. There are billions of people praying for protection, healing, and the restoration of life from the pandemic. I am doing both. I wonder, however, if I am prepared to accept God's solutions.

I know in the past I have prayed for God's help, and further prayed into a very specific solution ... then received help and blessing but in a different manner. And I struggled through God's solution. I was Israel, praying not just for his will to be a loving and blessed and holy outcome, but rather praying for my intended outcome disguised as a plea for his will be done.

I wanted my will to inform and influence his will ... not for my will to submit to his will.

God is fully in control of everything right now. He has authority over disease, violence, nature ... you name it. He will work this all for good. Is that good outcome the one I have in mind? Probably not. Is his outcome better than mine? YES! I hope we are all of a mind to both accept and celebrate that, rather than lament and reject and manipulate it.

Prayer: Lord, you are my Lord and my God, the authority of my life, and creator of heaven and earth. You command all things with love and justice. I do not just pray for your will to be done, but rather I submit to your will. Whatever is your will, I embrace it and desire it. May my will be whatever your will is, knowing your ways are higher than my ways, and your thoughts higher than my thoughts. I do not see our way forward, and I do not need to, for I trust in you, Lord. Amen.