“Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.”
Acts 13:21 (NLT)
Israel begged for a king because they wanted to be like everybody else. They traded the unseen leadership of God for something they could point to, measure, and follow. Samuel warned them what an earthly king would cost, but they still chose it. They preferred an earthly master over a heavenly One.
Acts reminds us that Saul did not end well, and God replaced him with David, a man after His own heart. David sought God’s heart and put God’s will ahead of his own. A king after God’s heart does not just hold a position, they carry out God’s desire on the earth.
But the deeper problem shows up again when Jesus comes. God tried to save His people by sending the promised Savior, yet they rejected Him too, because He was not the kind of king they wanted. They wanted someone to fix their physical issues and give them power on earth, but Jesus came to give heavenly authority and spiritual power, leading us into eternal life.
So today I have to ask myself: am I still reaching for an earthly king? Am I putting the physical over the spiritual and choosing control over surrender? Or will I stop chasing what I can hold and trust the Savior who came to lead me into eternal life in heaven and here on earth? Today, let’s run into the arms of our Savior, our Lord, our Rock, and let Him lead us, guide us, mold us, shape us, and empower us.