I Samuel 8:21
“Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the LORD’S hearing.”
Samuel was very distressed by the people’s response. He doesn’t keep it to himself. He also doesn’t take the blame. He probably was internally, for God assures him in verse seven that it wasn’t him that they were rejecting, but God.
This is a good practice, taking one’s concerns to God. Otherwise we are taking the burden unto ourselves. We weren’t built to do so. Peter says in his first epistle, “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you”, (5:7).
Our culture tends to say that God wants us to be responsible and shoulder these things. Some faiths seem to share that same view. Not a good idea. The Peter passage tells us otherwise. He wants us to cast ALL of our cares on Him. This worry, if kept, grinds us down.
How do we give these things to God? Just as Samuel did, we recite our concerns to Him. If we are out amongst others, we can do it mentally. We might not feel relief, but we are to trust the process.
We give our cares to Him by faith. Even though we might not feel relief, we know we have given them to Him and we know He wants to help, so we trust. A demonstration of our faith is to give thanks. We trust that He’s got it and will deal with it in His time. We can recite it mentally, we can sing a song of thanksgiving. Worry often returns, so we repeat the process, give it to Him and give praise.
Relief comes and we’ve learned a great lesson, just as Samuel demonstrates. We instinctively bring our concerns and life happenings to God. The Lord comforts us, “It’s not you…” This process is as natural as breathing for Samuel. He has long since had this relationship with the Lord. They were a team. So may we have a strong Father/child relationship.
The prodigal had a distant connection with God. His dreams didn’t include Him. He just wanted God’s resources. Later when poor and abandoned, He returned. He still wasn’t close to the Father, but at least in the same house.
Lord, help us to bring our burdens to You. Help us to grow ever connected to You.