For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. … Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray.
To whom do I turn in distress? This tells me something about who’s the king of my life. There are options…
He makes an idol and bows down and praises it!…He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”… Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this thing, this idol that I’m holding in my hand, a lie?”
My idols are not carved from wood. They’re harder to recognize. Where do my fears drive me? What lies do I live by?
And the LORD…delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 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.
And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them”.
But only One brings the counsel, the deliverance, and the PEACE that I most need.
If the peace that passes understanding is not ruling in my life today I had better consider who is holding the reins of my heart. Am I hanging on tight for a semblance of control? Am I trusting in my own ability to figure things out, to get on top of things, to ‘grow up’ and ‘get over’ pre-occupation with myself? Where am I turning for answers, for relief, for escape!? May it be only Jesus.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Jesus is the only rightful Lord of the human heart, by right of Creation and Redemption. All knees will bow to Him in the end. But in the meantime He leaves with us the choice of allegiance and its consequences. Self, sin and Satan jockey to be that potentate. They are tyrants promising life but bringing doom. Only as we yield to Jesus’ rule, dying to self’s demands and yielding to His Spirit’s governance moment by moment will we find rest for our souls and peace of mind in a world at war with God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ…the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords…
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Ps. 95:3, 6; Ps. 5:2; Is. 44:15,17,20; I Sam. 12:11-12; I Sam. 8:7; Is. 9:6; Phil. 4:6-7; Col 3:15; I Tim. 6:15 KJV; [ESV unless otherwise noted]
–LS