I Samuel 9:20 And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house?
Be Faithful Today
Perhaps nothing is more fascinating than biographies, the stories of real people. When you read a biography, whether it is about a general, inventor, or some other person who has accomplished great things in life, you get the sense that events are leading somewhere, that something big is afoot. Yet, when you look at your own life, most days don’t feel like that, do they? We have routines, jobs, and tasks that are not adventurous, grand, or noble. Sometimes we feel that we are chasing donkeys when actually God is leading us. That is exactly what happened with the man who would become the first king of Israel, Saul.
Saul’s dad lost some donkeys. So, he sent out his son, Saul, to chase after these donkeys. What Saul could not and did not know is that he wasn’t actually chasing donkeys; he was following God’s leading. God had intended for Saul to meet the prophet Samuel and for Samuel to anoint Saul. In fact, when Saul met Samuel, he was only hoping that the prophet could help him find his father’s stray donkeys. The reality was that God had told Samuel that He was sending to him a man whom He wanted Samuel to anoint king of Israel.
God’s perspective was very different from Saul’s perspective. Saul thought he was chasing when God knew that He was leading. It is worthy of noting that Saul was obedient to his father, and he was faithful in his immediate task, going after his dad’s animals. Sometimes the need we perceive is not the one we actually have. Saul thought his greatest need was finding the donkeys, but the truth was that his greatest need was to be anointed as king. He didn’t know that, and he didn’t need to know that.
Now I don’t know what you may feel like you are chasing today, but be faithful to the authorities and to the immediate tasks that God has placed in your life. Have a sense of modesty regarding your accomplishments, yet have a sense of purpose knowing that sometimes the small things in life with which we are faithful are the building blocks of the master project that God has in mind.
The sum and substance of this story is that you don’t need to know God’s long-range plan for you in order to follow His leading today. If you have some sense of God’s grand design, that is great. If you don’t have the sense of God’s grand design, that’s okay. God wants us to be faithful today, and when we are faithful today, it leads us to God’s grand design for the future.