In my household of women, I've taken on the responsibility to care for the lawn. With the summer's drought, most of the grass died, and my job was easy. With the sprinkling system broken, our yard became a yellow crunchy field where weeds thrive. A small bit of rain revived the yard, and we now can see some green; both the good and bad are thriving together.
The worst of the weeds are the stickers, which attach themselves to our shoes and make their way into our carpet. I often find them with my bare feet as I walk through the house. They must be at their prickly best in the fall, because I reached my limit of tolerance for them being tracked throughout the house. Yesterday I spent several hours working on the yard, including pulling up each of the sticker grass sprouts by their roots. They thrive in the hot, dry climate because of their very shallow root system, and easily strangle out the good grass. Who knows how long my effort will last!
As the Lord confirmed Saul as King in chapter 11, we again see that God divinely enabled Saul for the task at hand. Israel had victory over the Ammonites, confirming God's anointing for Saul as King. Samuel then lead the nation in faith, gathering them for the public anointing (Ch. 10 was more of a public presentation). Saul's official reign as King began with God's confirming victory. It all seems swell, right?! No sticker grass here.
Then, in chapter 12, Samuel communicated the boundaries and situation for the King that God was giving them. Gathered as a nation at Gilgal, the Lord reminded them of His works in leading them from Egypt, establishing them in the land, and providing for their national needs. He showed them how good it was to have Him as King. Then the Lord rebuked them for their tendency to forget Him, their perpetual cycle of sin, and for rejecting God as King. The Lord's will was to answer their plea for a king, but He was not condoning the sin in their hearts.
Israel was very celebratory over their King, yet God sends them a terrible storm to confirm his anger over their evil. Their harvest would suffer because of the storm. The people fear, but God reminded them that apart from Him their pursuits are futile. He will not abandon His people according to His promise, but He will discipline them. They must be able to recognize the sticker grass which threatens their trust in Him. If they do not learn to love Him wholly, the stickers will strangle out what is good from their hearts. Instead of fruition, the end result would be pain and unrest as the stickers do their damage.
Sin so easily entangles. Its roots do not have to run deep to do much damage. God sees our sticker grasses, instructs us, and desires our ability to rest in him. As we allow the Spirit of God to convict, remember that removing the sticker grass means that your hands will likely be pricked and it will require some sweat, but the end result allows for a fuller trust and rest in God. It's worth the work. Keep striving with the Spirit of God to keep a lush and fertile heart!
© 2006 by Kendra Hinkle.
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