Hard Reality

Some time ago my wife and I were with our daughter outside talking to our neighbors. Their oldest son was riding his bike for the first time without training wheels. He was doing pretty well, but I noticed he was not the stablest of riders. His parents watched and ALLOWED him to crash into an object next to the sidewalk (they told him it was there). He fell, cut his knee and elbow. The incident begs the question - can I let go?

The answer is, you can, you just don't know it yet. Samuel, the prophet from the Old Testament knew the end result of those he was dealing with, but was still able to let go. The people begged for a king - even though they had God - they wanted someone with skin on. Samuel gives all the warnings of what is going to happen. Then he tells the people he will continue to pray and teach what is good and right AND when all he warned begins to happen, he LETS it happen.

For those people we are dealing with I want you to remember two things: They are worth loving (no matter whether the agree with you or not). Number two, experience is often our greatest teacher. When we think someone is far from God, they might be closer than we think.