In the Old Testament, the Israelites were God’s chosen people, and He set them apart to worship Him. Through the record of the Israelites living during Old Testament times, we can learn a lot about ourselves, but more importantly, we can learn a lot about God’s patience, mercy, and grace. Throughout history, humanity has demonstrated that we are wonderfully and meticulously made by our Creator. We’ve shown ourselves capable of extraordinary kindness, generosity and resourcefulness. But make no mistake, we’ve also demonstrated the polar opposite of God’s divine nature. For centuries, we have vacillated greatly in our faithfulness to God’s Word, and thousands of years ago, the Israelites were no different. They were hot one moment and cold the next when it came to their obedience to the commandments God had given them.
Samuel was one of God’s prophets in Old Testament times. In 1Samuel 8, we learn that the Israelites rejected God and took their demands to Samuel. They wanted a king to rule over them like the other nations and asked Samuel to seek the Lord for such a man. God allowed Saul to be their first king, and this worked out for a little while, but Saul became arrogant. He disobeyed God and 1Samuel 15:10-11(NLT) states, “Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I’m sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard this that he cried out to the LORD all night.” Samuel loved Saul, but we must note that sincerity is secondary to the truth of God’s Will and Word.
God told Samuel to find a man named Jesse, because one of his sons would be the next king. Well, Samuel took one look at Jesse’s son, Eliab, and thought he was the one. Like Saul, Eliab looked the part of a king, but he was not the one God chose. 1Samuel 16:7(NLT) tells us, “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Samuel had a great responsibility. A lot was at stake, but he was about to make a huge error in judgment, and many of us do the same thing. We are much too focused on outward appearance, and we judge people according to how they look. Samuel made this mistake as well. He wasn’t focused on the heart of the person, and this is what’s most important to God, the heart.
David was God’s choice, and he ultimately became king because he had the heart that God was looking for. This record is so important because it clearly defines for us what our Heavenly Father requires. He is looking for a heart that is loyal to Him, and He blesses a person when this is the motivation of their heart.
Many people say they love God, but sometimes this is only lip service. The question God asks each of us is “Do you really want a relationship with Me?” If we do, it will be apparent in our actions. We’ll read and study God’s Word. We won’t only pray to Heavenly Father when we need something, but we’ll pray to Him for others. We’ll spend quality time with God, and cling to Him because we understand how loving, powerful, and holy He is. We’ll show how thankful we are to know Him and to be in His presence. These are just a few of the practices that demonstrate our honor and desire for a relationship with Him.
Even though most individuals living today say they believe in Him, they don’t understand or know that God desires to spend quality time with them. God wants a quality relationship with every person. But when we spend more time with other people or things than we do with Him, it sends the wrong message. It says that we are more focused on the creation than the Creator, and this isn’t good. Jesus Christ commands us in Matthew 6:33(NKJV), “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Jesus is teaching us that God, and the things that are important to Him, must be our first priority.
Nothing in life should be more important than our relationship with God because God is the Giver of life! We are commanded to live in Him and love through Him every moment of each day. He would not tell us to do this if we were incapable of getting it done. Every morning, we should get up asking Heavenly Father for His guidance throughout our days so we can do the things that please Him. When this is our motivation, our hearts are in the right place.
When a man and woman are interested in each other, they spend a lot of time with one another. They learn each other’s likes and dislikes, and they also enjoy things that they have in common. They communicate with each other often and they support one another. They understand that these things are important to building a relationship. If we put this amount of effort into a human being, we should be doing exponentially more for God.
God longs for intimacy with us, Jesus Christ said in Revelation 3:20(NKJV) “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Jesus Christ is the perfect gentleman. He said in this verse that he stands at the door. He does not kick it open and force his way through. He stands and he knocks, waiting for us to hear his voice and open the door of our hearts to him. He does this because he wants to love and bless us, but he also wants us to recognize that he is a friend that is worthy of our most heartfelt invitation.
Most of us know what it feels like to want someone to love us really bad, but they won’t. The rejection is heartbreaking. This person will not meet us half-way. They are unwilling to share the best part of themselves with us. This leaves us no choice but to walk away with the knowledge that they never valued us. They didn’t want what we had to offer. Ephesians 2:10(NLT) says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” This tells us how God sees us! God wants us! He will not force us to love Him, but He hopes that we will accept His love through Jesus Christ.
God never wants to be disconnected from his kids. He wants intimacy with us, but He will not overstep our decision to deny Him our time. He wants us to understand that He will never reject us, and He wants us to do all the wonderful things He’s planned for us. We should never treat our Heavenly Father less than how we want to be treated. When someone says they love us, we expect them to treat us like they do. We know whether they truly love us by the way they treasure and honor the relationship. Understanding this, it’s easy to see why it’s so important to back our faith with practices that show we love God. He’s given us everything, and we should be honored to show Him that we appreciated it.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Do You Really Want a Relationship with God?”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.