Equal Opportunity?
I Samuel 14:52, “Now the war against the Philistines was severe all the days of Saul ; and when Saul saw any mighty man or any valiant man, he attached him to his staff.”
The nation of Israel fought with the Philistines for years, and during that fight King Saul kept an eye out for any promising young men. As king that was part of his job; to look for any up & coming stars that he thought would improve his army. Their were several flaws however with how he did this. First, Saul looked for mighty and valiant men. In other words he looked for men with a lot of machismo. I’m a man, and I respect other macho men, but sometimes men can be overly macho; and it interferes with their relationship with God. Macho men usually want to stay on full throttle ahead, but occasionally God does not want us to “storm the castle”. Sometimes God wants us to sit back while He is working. When the Israelites came to the Red Sea Moses told them to sit back, and watch the deliverance of the Lord. When Joshua came to Jericho God told him not to invade it, but to march around the outside walls; God would give them the victory in this way. An overly macho man would probably never hear these commands, or if he did he would probably ignore them.
Saul was looking for men that fit his idea of what a mighty and valiant warrior. He was probably looking for someone with big muscles, a loud mouth, and a “get-r-done” attitude. Those are NOT bad attributes. If you thoroughly read the Scriptures, all the great men and women of God have these attributes. However, true bravery and strength are not always seen on the outside. When the prophet Samuel was searching for the man God had chosen to replace Saul the Lord told him, I Samuel 16:7, “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Big muscles, bravery, and a loud mouth can all be useful at times, but they are no substitute for a heart that belongs to God!
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Father God, I thank You for giving me reminders in Your Word that my life is only at it’s best when I follow You completely. In Jesus’ name, Amen
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The image above can be found at:http://completejoy.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/p00057fall_of_the_jericho_s_wall-793×796.jpg
Yes, You Can Ministry 
