Text: 1 Samuel 8.19-22
With Samuel now very old, and having experienced the dishonesty of Samuel’s sons (1 Samuel 8.1-3), Israel’s leaders use this pretext to request a king. But their real reason is security—they want someone to lead them to victory in battle. Rather than trust their security to God, who had led them successfully to the Promised Land by providing food and water during their journey from Egypt, they wanted to trust it to a human leader.
Their security was misplaced.
We, too, have a tendency to misplace our security. Instead of placing our security in God, we place it in our bank accounts, retirement portfolios, a spouse (or spouse-to-be), or abilities (including athletic). We mistakenly believe these can “win” our “battles.” Battles with insecurity, fear, frustration, and inadequacy.
This leads to the One Big Question. . .Where do you tend to look for a sense of security? When you identify it, confess it before God. Then remind yourself security is to be placed in God alone, “For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings” (Psalm 61.3-4).
