"You..." (Part 2)

1st Samuel 8.19-20
“The Message”

“But the people wouldn't listen to Samuel. ‘No!’ they said. ‘We will have a king to rule us! Then we'll be just like all the other nations. Our king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles.’”

Why were the people so desperate for a king? Probably for the same reason I want one today. A king, like each of my imaginary super heroes, saves me from all that is hard about life relieving me from the responsibility to make a better life for myself and others. A young woman imagines her ‘knight in shining armor’ will swoop down and save her from the mundane and make her feel like a princess every day of her married life. A young man thinks the marital union will be just like being single except now he gets unlimited sex, good meals, a clean house, and folded clothes.

These human expectations have collided on more than one occasion leading to a national divorce rate of over 50%.[1] I should exchange my expectations for His. My expectations are not really pertinent to real success in any endeavor. Only divine expectations matter. It’s not about what I expect from others. It’s all about what God expects of me.

The people of Israel wanted a king so they could be “just like all the other nations.” Then they would relax and enjoy the good life. “Our king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles.”

Oh, how much I want a king like that; my very own hero, father, president, mentor, leader, mommy, shepherd, personal trainer, personal consultant, personal valet, personal savior, etc. Someone who would make life better for me without any investment from me.

The worst of all possible outcomes is that God would answer my prayer like He did for Israel. They got their king and were forever sorry they did.

I don’t need a king. I already have one. With Jesus I can step up and be my own father, trainer, mother, shepherd, mentor, and hero. I hear His voice today: “You don’t need an earthly king. I am Jesus. I am enough for you. You rule yourself. You lead yourself. You fight your own battles. I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you. With Me you can do all things. You fulfill my commands. You perform my will. I have empowered you.”
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[1] “50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce”, says Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri. These statistics are exaggerated or outdated ccording to Belinda Luscombe in a TIME magazine article dated November 16, 2018, entitled The Divorce Rate is Dropping. That May Not Actually Be Good News 
(http://time.com/5434949/divorce-rate-children-marriage-benefits/). The article places the current divorce rate in America for first marriages at 39%. This is due, in part, to the delay of marriage among millennials and the increase in cohabitation. "More Americans under 25 cohabit with a partner (9%) than are married to one (7%). Two decades ago, those figures weren’t even close: 5% were cohabiting and 14% were married." Today, "the median age at first marriage in the U.S. is now nearly 30 for men and 28 for women, up from 27 and 25 in 2003." Decoupling, especially among co-habitants, is probably as common as ever. 

The cartoon "Super Hero" was created by commercial artist Michael Dougherty who works as a character designer at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, CA. You can view his art at his personal blog at http://michaeldougherty.blogspot.com/.

Michelle Amarante shot the photo of a crown called "A crown for King Christopher" and displayed it on her photo blog at http://www.michelleamarante.com/. Michelle is a professional photographer from Hope Valley, Rhode Island.