By Joseph Perry

“Blessed be the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.” — Psalm 72:18

After the death of Joshua, God raised up judges to lead the children of Israel. The children of Israel saw other nations led by their own king. They noticed that they had a king who would lead them, who was protecting them. The kings were ruling over their lives.

The Israelites didn’t realize that God was doing that for them and much more. Some things may look good to you, but may not be good for you. You need to be careful how you crave for what somebody else has, not realizing you already have the best right where you are. God through His servants expressed to the Israelites that you don’t need a king, because you have God as your king.

The truth of the matter is when you get this king, everything changes. You will have to bow down to this king; you will have to pay taxes to this king. The king will require certain orders to be carried out. But the Israelites insisted that they be given a king. And you know, God always knows what’s best for us.

He knows when He needs to put people, places and things in our life, and He knows when to take them out our lives. What I’m saying is, He knows what’s best for you because it is God who made you, and not you yourself. When we leave Him out, we can make a mess of our lives.

The Israelites got what they wanted, just like God will give us what we want. You need to be careful what you pray for. You need to be careful what you ask God for. Because God will in fact give you the desires of your heart. Many parents will try to get their children things in life, even here at Christmas; we will do whatever it takes to make it come to pass. God gave the children of Israel a king.

From King Saul, to King David, right on through the lineage, we find that God gave them what they asked for. The children of Israel struggled with the kings God allowed to be put in their lives. Through the ups and downs, the good times and bad times. Through the nice kings and through the kings who treated them badly. He gave them what they asked for. But even after all the kings that the Lord had allowed to cross their path, they still didn’t have the true king, the Messiah. Oftentimes, He can put things In our lives, and if we aren’t careful, we can take our eyes off of the King who has been better to us than we’ve been to ourselves. Sometimes God wants to give us things in life — sometimes He wants to put certain people in our life — and we push them away.

There are things God wants to give us through certain people, to bless us, to strengthen us, to give us hope, to take us to another level, to open another door, to give us a different view, to change a situation, and oftentimes we really don’t want it. But we need a king. Not only do we need a king, we need a king to come now. People’s lives are turned upside down. People are going through trials and tribulations. People are living each day under so much stress. There are people who can’t seem to make ends meet. We are in a world that’s at war one with another. Violence is everywhere. Many children are not being fed. So many children are being neglected. People are homeless, and families are torn up. Husband and wives can’t see eye to eye. Siblings are fussing and fighting daily. Jobs are folding, and people are constantly stealing.

We need a King to come. We need Him to set things in order.  We need Him to show His power. We need Him to perform wonderful things. We need Emmanuel to come and be the King over our lives. Today, allow Jesus to take over and rule every area of your life. He’s all the King you really need.

 

The Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Perry is pastor of St. Mark AME Zion Church. Contact him at josephp134@gmail.com.