From Looking to Leading

As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. -1 Samuel 9:20 (NIV)

Today's assigned reading begins with Israel asking for a king. The elders are tired of judges. Samuel is old and his sons are not honest enough to lead. Israel thinkd that the answer to its problem is a king to lead them...just like all the other nations have. This doesn't sit well with Samuel so he prays about how to respond. Israel's desire for a king doesn't sit well with God either; God interprets this desire as a rejection of God's own kingship. Nevertheless God instructs Samuel to give the Israelites what they want and to warn them about what a king would mean for them.

When we're introduced to Saul, he isn't looking for a kingship. He's looking a donkey (actually more than one).

The donkeys belonging to his father are lost. Saul and a companion go looking for them. After an unsuccessful search and rescue mission, Saul and his companion seek out a seer for clues as to the whereabouts of the donkeys. That seer is Samuel.

God informs the one looking for a king (Samuel) that the one looking for donkeys (Saul) is to be the new king. Obviously, this is news to Saul; donkeys are the only thing on his mind at the moment. Samuel tells Saul not to worry about the donkeys (they've been found) and then informs him that all of Israel will eventually turn to him. Saul objects, pointing out that he is from the smallest clan from the smallest tribe in Israel. But God changes Saul's heart and mind, anoints him with the Spirit of God, and Saul becomes king.

Like Saul, you may think that you know what your purpose is in life. For Saul, his journey was all about looking for lost donkeys. But God has other plans; Saul goes from being a looker to a leader.

There's nothing wrong with looking for donkeys. But does God desire for you to do something else? Is God calling you to stop being a looker and start being a leader? Can the same God who equipped Saul for a radically different purpose equip you for something radically different?

May God grant you the grace to hear God's will for your life today and to experience a fresh anointing of the Spirit for whatever God is calling you to do.