Second Best: Part 2

Welcome back for part 2 of "Second Best".  If you read part one then you know that God had a plan for Israel to be ruled by a Monarchy but they didn't want to wait on His best, David, and instead they demanded AND settled for God's second best, Saul.  Have you ever seen in movies a scene where people are on a mountainous trail headed to a destination and they left some sort of marker every few feet so that those behind them might find the way? Well, Israel is on a similar journey in these passages only they are on a path that leads AWAY from God's perfect plan, God's first choice, and instead they are headed to 2nd best.  We are uniquely blessed to have these markings given to us in Scripture as warnings and IF we choose to learn from them, we can avoid the downward path away from God's perfect plan for our lives. 
In part 1 the first and most crucial step was keeping our eyes on Jesus. No matter the disappointments of those around us, no matter the hurts, no matter the jealously, we must not lose focus of Christ! But what if? What if you did lose that focus? Israel did and they DEMANDED a king and they demanded him NOW. So Samuel took their request to God and God told him to allow it, only warn them first of the consequences of getting what they asked for, the consequences of second best.  Here is the marking they left for us, found in 1 Samuel 8:10-22. 

Step two: Ignore any warning signs and don’t heed the advice of the wise

This passage for a long time puzzled me because I was always under the impression that if I was walking along God’s path and making choices within His will and then made a choice against His will that my new path became His will.  I thought that somehow it would all be ok in the long run, that He would change His mind and give me His best anyway.  But from this passage we see that God allowed the Israelites to have what they wanted even though it was NOT His perfect will. 
The new path they were on was NOT His best for them but it was the path they chose in spite of His warnings.  They ignored the words of God through his messenger Samuel.  How many of us have sat and listened to the words of God through His messengers, our pastors, our Bible study leaders, our wise mentors, and yet we still choose wrong or worse completely ignore the warnings?
Can you see the steps downward to second best? First a believer gets hurt or disappointed by someone close to him or her, a pastor, a teacher, or even another church member.  Then, they stop attending church altogether where God’s word is being taught and in doing so they empty their life of godly advice.  Like the plug in a drain that is pulled, so their lives are drained of the input of godly wisdom.  Don’t we all know someone who is caught in this cycle? Haven’t we also been on these steps downward?  Can these believers live a life that appears happy? Yes, but is it truly God’s best for them? No. 
Do you want God's best for your life? For the lives of your children? Then don't ignore the godly counsel of your mentors, your parents, your pastors, your teachers.  Don't let your gaze be pulled off of Jesus and then turn away from the council of God's messengers. 

I have had the opportunity to "audit" the real-life ministry of my parents for 20+ years (better education than a seminary degree;) then I've served in my own ministry for more than 13 years now and do you know what pattern I see? Hold on now, buckle your seat belt lol I see believers, who have MIGHTY potential to be used for God and something happens.  They are hurt, disappointed, blindsided, or they even make a poor choice and it derails them in the blink of an eye. Now, am I making light of hurts and disappointments? Not at all, I understand, believe me I understand! It's in this derailment that their gaze takes a horizontal angle.  The next thing that happens is they stop attending church, any church, or they cut off those who speak the truth of God's Word.  This is the same pattern that Israel found them self in and they were not receiving God's best. 

Friends, keep your eyes on Jesus and faithfully stay in church, in your Bible study (both personal and collective)! Don't settle for 2nd best! Don't let your kids settle for second best in their life! Stay tuned for part 3 of 6, because step 3 is a doozie!