1 Samuel 8:5-6 – “So all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons don’t follow your ways. So now appoint over us a king to lead us, just like all the other nations have.”  ⁶ But this request displeased Samuel, for they said, “Give us a king to lead us.”  So Samuel prayed to the Lord.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the thought of troubles and trials came to mind.  There are at least two kinds of troubles we encounter.  Those of our own making and those because we are believers.

1 Samuel 8:6 reveals a doorway for trouble for Israel.  They said, as Moses prophesied, “Give us a king.”  Two root causes prompted them to reject being a theocracy and become a monarchy. One was that Samuel’s sons were abusing them, not following after righteousness.   Religious abuse often causes people to turn to the world.   Fleecing the flock causes the flock to look for protection through human effort.

The second was that their hearts were not wholly turned to God.  They had one hand on God (religious tradition) and the other on the world (fleshly desires).  The King, Saul, morphed from humility to pride, which led to abuse and troubles, both internally and externally.

1 Peter 4:12 is intriguing, especially in light of what we have just considered. “Beloved, DO NOT BE SURPRISED at the fiery trial among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.”

What did we think would happen?   We deserted the devil by turning to Jesus.   The devil considers us traitors.   That’s good, but a guarantee of trouble.

Our comfort is in 1 Peter 5:10 – “AND AFTER you have suffered (experienced or encountered trouble) for a little while, the God of ALL GRACE, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, WILL HIMSELF restore, strengthen, confirm, and ground you.” What a promise!

The cry is “Lord, restore us to a former state, and this state should be thought of as Adam before the fall.   Strengthen is to infuse with might; that is, “God’s strength.”   Remember, He is “in” us.  

To confirm is to validate or authenticate, which means identifying us as children of God and heirs of God – Family Eternally. To be grounded is to be planted and secure on a solid foundation. Anchored and enabled to weather any storm.

If we give our all to God, we know that trouble is temporary, and eternal victory is our heritage. Trouble is not the issue. The cause is. If trouble is the result of our disobedience, repentance is required to have restoration. If it is because we changed camps, rejoicing is the proper response.   Don’t be troubled by trouble; be trouble to trouble by yieldedness to God!

Lord, help us not to create our own troubles, but run to you for and give ourselves to you completely!