Participate In The Story Of God’s Choice | 1 Samuel 16:4-5

When you are obedient, you are participating in God's divine plan and story.

Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller.

This week, we are in 1 Samuel 16. I've titled this chapter "God's Criteria for Choosing Leaders."

In yesterday's text, we discovered how grief and fear can consume us, making it challenging to see God's plan. The principle we discovered is that in difficult times, our obedience is how God reveals his plan and provides relief. In today's text, we will see that Samuel obeys, which unfolds a timeless plan. Let's read verse 4-5:

Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. — 1 Samuel 16:4-5

There are three critical words in this text:

1. Bethlehem. It is the birthplace and home of David, but we also know it is the birthplace of Jesus. It's the small town that was the birthplace of God's choices for kings.
2. Trembling. The people are scared to death of Samuel. They are scared of him because they know that God speaks to him, and he has just stripped the kingdom from Saul and hacked Agag to pieces. So, these people were scared of him as much as Samuel was afraid of King Saul.
3. Consecrate. The consecration was a washing and cleaning process to prepare you for the time dedicated to the Lord. To outsiders, this consecration would look like a sacrifice of atonement, but in the end, we know it was a sacrifice of anointing.

But here's the catch of this moment. They did not know what we know about David's lineage or Bethlehem's birthplace. From this town and through this man, Jesus would enter the world. But remember, we know this. But they did not. Even Samuel did not. But Samuel, regardless of his grief and fear, was obedient to God, and look at what God revealed through him to us that he did not see.

Here's the point, which is connected to yesterday's devotion.

When you are obedient in times of paralyzing emotion, you are participating in a plan of God that you cannot see. Obedience always reveals God's plan. Think about it. We are enjoying the wonderful plan of God today and the story of Jesus because Samuel was obedient in a tough moment in his life. He never met Jesus, but by going to Bethlehem, he walked into the town where Jesus was born and met Jesus's relatives fourteen generations removed. How awesome is that? The best part is he didn't even know it. But because he was obedient, he met divine royalty and a royal line that would be God's choice for King, both at the moment and in the future.

When you act in obedience, you are participating in God's divine plan. You are playing a role in God's story. This is a great reason to be obedient today. You don't want to miss out on playing a role in God's story. So be obedient today, especially if it's hard for you right now. Because you never know, you might be meeting divine royalty and being written in the story of God that future generations might be reading.

#ObedienceToGod, #DivinePlan, #GodsStory

1. How have you experienced God's plan unfolding through your obedience in the past, even when you couldn’t see the bigger picture at the time?
2. In what area of your life is God calling you to be obedient right now, and how might your obedience impact His larger story and plan?

Participate in the story by being obedient.

Lord, help me remain steadfast in my obedience, even when I can’t see the full scope of Your plan. Guide me to trust that my faithfulness contributes to Your divine story and purposes. Amen.

God Is In This Story.