CONTENTMENT

Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 7-8

Key Verse: 1 Samuel 8:5

…and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."

Throughout history there seems to be a pattern that repeats itself over and over. We don't learn well from history. There were the sons of Eli, and now the sons of Samuel. In each case, the next generation failed to serve the God of their fathers faithfully. Surely they knew the consequences of their actions; nevertheless they failed. There is a strong tendency in us all to act out the words of the popular song, "I did it my way."

God's way did not satisfy the majority of the Israelites. He wanted to be their King, and it seemed to work very well for the people. They were prosperous. They were safe from oppression by their enemies all the days when Samuel functioned as their judge, before they had a king. But they were not content. The Scripture says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6).

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, may we be given grace every day to be content. You are our King, our absolute Monarch. We want to obey You in all things. We receive our instructions from You today. We pray that we will steadfastly resist the pressures to conform to the world around us. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen!

For more on today's reading, please visit 100words.ca