Worthless?

“In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” [1 Samuel 1.17]

The story here is intriguing. Eli, who was a worthless priest who knowingly raised worthless sons, prophesied for the LORD concerning Hannah's request for a son. And Hannah's request was granted.

How could that be? How could a worthless priest do anything for God?

Simple. The words Eli spoke were not his own. He spoke a very generic blessing on Hannah.

We need to understand this today. Why? Because apart from Jesus, we are worthless.

I know, I know... I shouldn't "confess" such things... But it goes beyond confession - our devotion to God requires that we remain mindful at all times that Kingdom work is not our work, but God's! The only way to remember that is to remember that God is the Ruler of His Kingdom and we are not! Why? Because we are fallen individuals - it is only the blood of Jesus that makes us worthy workers in God's Kingdom!

As Kingdom workers, we have specific instructions how to do Kingdom work. As Kingdom workers we have been given an Example of what Kingdom work looks and sounds like. Jesus gave us those instructions and Jesus showed us what 'fleshing it out' looked like.

Jesus taught us, like Eli, the right words to say, "May Your Kingdom come, may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." We are not to pray any other will except God's will - and Jesus further taught us to qualify God's will with the specific phrase "AS IT IS IN HEAVEN."

Now, it is worth further considering that Eli suffered and died. He was blind (which was predicted) and he was obese. God said this would happen and it did. 

My point?

My point is that we can be used by God to do Kingdom work even if we are worthless individuals. While we may find encouragement in this knowledge, we need to also understand that 'repeating after Him' will not exempt us from His demand for faithfulness in our lives. In other words, we can pray heaven and earth right together on behalf of others and suffer terrible things for ourselves. Of course this is not popular 'theology' but I am afraid the Word of God supports it entirely as we saw in Eli's life.

We need to think about these things... It is not good enough to simply fall back on our doctrines or theology - what if they are wrong? We must stay focused on learning what the LORD is telling us each and every day through His Word without doctrinal, denominational, or theological bias!

I could be totally wrong in what I am saying here because I know my heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked... But, that said, I am confident that I can never go wrong then in concluding that I need to repent and remain repentant as a lifestyle.

I am not satisfied just 'saying God's words!' I want to live His Kingdom!

Father, there is much more here that I need to consider in my life and devotion to You. Thank You for Your patience with me as I grow in Your Salvation and Truth.