A Good Day

On the bus I must have looked like a terribly distracted young lady. I was looking out the window, but did not see anything that we passed. I was thinking a million things...

The day started off very well. I slept in. I prayed. I read 1 Samuel 10, and it was exactly what I needed. Do you ever read a story and suddenly exclaim, "This is me! This story has me in it! I am that character." Well, maybe you haven't done that, but today I found myself personified in the Israelites.

"Give us a king!" they demanded of God. "We want to be like the other nations. We want to follow someone who we can see and talk to and touch. We want a king!"

You can almost hear the crowd chanting..."We want a king. We want a king!"

Samuel is very disturbed by the request of the Israelites, taking their rejection personally. But God shares otherwise. The people have not rejected Samuel as their leader, but God Himself. He would give them a king...but the history of the kings of Israel would not be a pretty one.

But it was what God said right before he revealed Saul as the "chosen" one, that really struck my heart.

"I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: ¹⁹And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us." (1 Samuel 10: 18-19)

God rehearsed his faithfulness to the Israelites...He had rescued them from slavery, He had protected them in the Promise Land, and He had saved them from enemies time and time again. Whenever they were in trouble, He was the One who delivered them. He was, is, always faithful.

What conviction struck my heart! How often do I cry out for a "king," forgetting God's faithfulness in my own life? I asked myself when God had been faithful in my life, and found the question ridiculous--so many times, so many stories, so many instances...He has always been faithful! A better question was, when had God not been faithful...and the answer? Never.

So, as I said, the day began very well. I met up with Paul and Sue and we went to a bazaar. I bought a few nick-nacks for people, and we made our way to an annual, live, 10 minute snippet, showing of the popular musicals. We watched and listened to the cast from Jersey Brothers, Mamma Mia, Lion King, etc. It really was quite the show (especially since it was free and we ate ice cream).

It was at the bus stop, waiting for the bus, that I became contemplative. A man was standing outside a grocery store, selling magazines and asking for money. He made his dog--a nice looking black lab--lay down and sprawl out. He was the kind of person people ignore and walk past, because you know they will ask you for something.

As I boarded the bus I wondered about how we are to treat beggars and "the poor." Do you give someone money simply because he asks for it (and looks like he needs it)? Naturally, you don't know what that person will do with any money you give them...but if you offer food, would they really eat it? I heard tell of a man who carries restaurant vouchers with him, to give to those who ask. I am simply unsure what my response should be, but I can't imagine ignoring people as if they don't exist would be the right course.

Regardless of all this heavy thinking, it was a good day :)

I'm still hopeful of finding an evening service to pop into, though there might not be many since it is Father's Day.