Crossroads

Daily Gratitude Year 4- Day 223: Today, I am grateful for crossroads and great things ahead.

Life has chapters. Seasons. We come to crossroads where at the end of a chapter we pause and have to decide what comes next. Sometimes there are multiple good options and we pray we make the best choice. 

Other times, not a single option looks good, but we still must choose. We choose "the lesser of two evils" and forage our way through praying for wisdom each step of the way. 

I am a firm believer that after we make a choice, it is up to us to make the best of that choice. One of my favorite Mary Engelbriet prints has a crossroads with two signs. The signs say: "You life" and "No longer an option". Brilliant, right?

Yes, life is full of choices and crossroads. 1 Samuel offers some great food for thought. 

This scripture is not exactly taken from a happy little passage of God blessing his people. In fact, just the opposite. He is warning them that their fickle, " call only when we need something ways" are resulting in God's justice. 

The people were whining because they didn't have a king like every other nation. God said he wanted to be their only king. He wanted them to trust him and let him be their "enough". The people wanted to be like everyone else. Yes, peer pressure is not new. They wanted a king, too. Saul was the best option found...but power corrupted him, as it does so many. This passage is Samuel affirming that God is allowing the trouble,  they are about to endure. When he lets down the hedge of protection, things can get rough. 


Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. -1 Samuel 12:16

This is the time to step back and watch. Be stilled and be awed. Yes, God is moving.  Even when he is silent, he is present. 

Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.  Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” -1 Samuel 12:23-25

The conviction of Samuel to never stop praying for what looked like a political and national train wreck right in front of him.  The Philistines were big. They were present. They were tough.Things seemed scary to the Israelite people. In their own strength...they were struggling physically, emotionally and as a nation. They needed God's intervention, again. 

The book of 1 Samuel is fascinating. God does intervene. But, it is not an instant fix. He does answer their prayers. Samuel never stopped praying for his people to seek God's best. Eventually...and to Samuel's surprise ...God instructs him to anoint Jesse's youngest son David to be the future king of Israel. David is a boy at the time.  He will grow up fast and in God's wisdom and grace. Things will get better.

We can't always expect an instant fix. Prayer and waiting for God to move is sometimes a part of the process. Sometimes he moves big. Sometimes he works at the plan one small piece of the puzzle at a time. He is always amazing. 

When I think of the state of our nation today, I will not lose hope, for God is still on his throne. Our nation plays a part in the story...as do so many others. My conviction comes from Samuel's words: 

"far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray" I think is the perfect passage for these times. 

Today, I am grateful for crossroads and great things ahead.