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REFLECTION

Anointing the King is the theme for our reflection. To anoint means to ceremonially confer an office upon a priest or king by rubbing, smearing, or pouring oil on the head of the person to evoke God’s glory upon the person and to demonstrate his or her divine approval. Samuel had the responsibility of anointing the next King of Israel because God had rejected Saul, the substantive King, for His disobedience to God.

In anointing a new King, Samuel initially could not see or perceive the will of God during his search. “When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”… Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.(1 Samuel 16:6-7, 11-13). Beloved in the Lord, man proposes, God disposes. This is because usually, our desires and inclinations are opposed to the will of God. Samuel thought Eliab would be the most preferred candidate to be anointed king amongst the sons of Jesse, but God rejected his choice. Dear friend, at that particular moment, Samuel was blind because he allowed the worldly standard, perception, or criteria of what constitutes the qualities of a leader or King to cloud his judgment. God opened his eyes to discern His will and what he must look out for. The key lesson of today is that it is impossible to please God until we are able to discern God’s will. Proverbs 19:21 reminds us that “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. To be able to discern His will and purpose, we must always rely on His directions through prayer and meditation on His Word daily. Samuel’s choice of Eliab was rejected because he failed to consult or pray to God for His direction. How often do you rely on God before making decisions in your life?

Beloved in the Lord, It is interesting to note that the mission to anoint a new King for Israel was solely God’s mission, Samuel was only a servant or God’s agent on that mission yet Samuel was found trying to choose the next King when the one who sent Him on the mission had not been consulted. This a great lesson for Christian leadership, let us remember that we are on God’s mission, not our own mission therefore we must rely on His direction every step of the way to yield results that will be pleasing to God. Many Church leaders and churches continue to make Samuel’s mistakes by mainly choosing people for leadership positions based on their appearance, height, academic qualifications, social status, or class and other mundane attributes that are soothing to the eye. Conversely, God desires persons with integrity who are faithful, humble, spiritually matured, and dedicated to Him even to the point of death. In our time, we see people yearning for ecclesiastical office or desiring to be leaders in the Church but immediately they are anointed, consecrated or commissioned we begin to see their true colours of arrogance, giving of excuses when duty calls and showing apathy when deligence is needed to work for the growth of the Church. If you want to know the nature of a church, then observe her leadership. In other words, show me your church, and I will tell you the character and nature of your leadership. Choosing leaders for a church is a spiritual or divine exercise devoid of worldly political sentiments. We need to totally rely on God through prayer and the use of Scripture as the basis to vet the character of the prospective candidates before finally approving the person to lead. Shalom.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, direct the church in choosing leaders who will please God and bring transformation and growth to the ministry of the Church in the world. Amen.