Questioning Reality

Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

1 Samuel 16:10–11

All of Jesse’s sons passed before Samuel and God did not indicated that any of them were to be anointed king. This presented Samuel with a bit of a brain teaser. God had told Samuel that He would indicate one of Jesse’s sons to be king. But now God’s Word wasn’t matching up with reality. Jesse had seemingly brought all of his sons before Samuel but none of them were the future king. What is Samuel to make of this?

Let me tell you what Samuel didn’t do. He didn’t doubt God’s Word. So often we make that mistake. If the Bible says that soemthing is true and then we look at the reality of the situation, the evidence around us, and it doesn’t match up with what Scripture said, then so many Christians say "Well, the Bible must be wrong!"

But not Samuel. When God’s Word, when His promise, didn’t match up with Samuel's reality the first thing Samuel did wasn’t to doubt God it was to double check his perception of reality. He turned to Jesse and said “Are you sure these are all your sons?” Imagine how silly he must have felt asking that question! But you know what? God’s Word was proved true! Jesse had excluded one of his own sons. 

Here again Samuel sets an example for us to follow. Your confidence in God’s Word and His promises should be unshakeable. So much so that when God’s promise doesn’t seem to match your reality you are more inclined to doubt your perception of reality than you are to doubt God’s promise. Strive to be like that!