TrustworthySample

Taking Matters Into My Own Hands

After Solomon’s reign, his son Rehoboam became king. But, a short time later, the kingdom was divided, with a new king, Jeroboam, rising up to reign over Israel. Rehoboam only held on to a small portion of the kingdom, just as God had warned would happen.

You might think Jeroboam would feel like he had the upper hand in this situation and wholeheartedly trust in God. But 1 Kings 12:25-33 shows us a sign that he did not trust God. Instead, he led people away from going to the temple as God instructed. If he could keep the people from going to Jerusalem, he could keep them from potentially being wooed by Rehoboam and his way of ruling the people. Jeroboam was terrified of his people turning their hearts toward this other king and his own power being threatened.

Again, before shaking my head at Jeroboam, I must challenge myself to consider where I might be doing the same thing. I’m not placing golden calves at alternate worship sites, but where might I be more concerned with protecting myself than remaining true to God’s ways? For example, I know lying goes against what God’s best is for me, but do I sometimes stretch the truth to protect myself from the potential fallout of what telling the truth might cost me?

Or do I park my mind on a worst-case scenario and determine the only way to keep this from happening is to take things into my own hands?

Maybe you fear being single the rest of your life, so, instead of waiting for a godly man, you settle for a good man. He doesn’t go to church and won’t be able to process life with you from a biblical standpoint, but at least he’s nice. You compromise to protect yourself from potentially living the rest of your life alone. Trusting God seems a bit risky, so you place your trust in a solution of your own making.

What have you taken into your own hands before? You probably didn’t realize you were taking control at the time, but looking back what comes to mind?