Doing the small things...

In 1 Samuel 8 the Israelites demanded a king, 'like the other nations' and God relented to their request and told Samuel to grant their request. God chose a king from within their number, a king from out of the least of their tribes and from the least of the clans within his tribe! In 1 Samuel 9 the Bible tells us that Kish was a wealthy, influential member of his community and that he sent his son Saul out to look for three donkeys that had ran off. Saul took a servant with him to find the donkeys. Saul, the son of a wealthy, influential member of the town, obediently submitted to his father's request to go out and search for barn animals. The humility and obedient heart shown by Saul here is a great picture of what God desires from all of His children. There those who may think that there are tasks God wants us to do that are beneath them, but NO task given by God is too small or insignificant in the Kingdom, our heart must be submissive and obedient to God's calling!

Now Saul went out to search for donkeys, a menial task that he MAY have thought should have been given to a servant, but Saul's obedience and respect for his father carried him to do this menial task. Saul left his town on a small task for his father, but here is the tremendous thing about this story in Scripture, Saul left a humble son and returned an anointed king. When we are willing to do the little things for God, humbly and obediently, God is going to bless our obedience. Saul was blessed by God far beyond anything he could have EVER imagined!

Now we know that Saul's kingship did not end well, but that was NOT based on his beginnings. In the beginning, Saul was a malleable, submissive, and obedient son willing to do the little things for little or no glory, all to honor his father. BUT as Saul's position increased, Saul's humility decreased until he was openly disobedient to God's calling. But the point here is that Saul began well and we can look to the beginnings of Saul's walk with the Lord and see how we are to respond to His calling on our lives! Are you willing to sell out to the little things to honor God? Jesus desires obedience and a submissive spirit, are you willing to be that submissive spirit for Him? Are you willing to honor Him in doing His bidding, no matter how irrelevant or insignificant it may seem to you? God is going to honor those who honor Him, are you willing to honor Him today?