What was his confidence based on?

“When they had come, he looked on Eliab [the eldest son] and said, Surely the Lord’s 

anointed is before Him.” 

1 Samuel 16:6

 

Samuel thought his job was a success when he saw Eliab.

We must remember Samuel was sent to anoint a king, so the person he would anoint

was not ordinary. He would have something that separated him from everyone else.

So when Samuel looked at Eliab’s physical appearance he was convinced he was the one.

He had the muscles, the height, the intelligence, and was well spoken.

What Samuel saw convinced him Eliab was the one but the Lord said something that made

him change his mind;

 

“But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature, 

for I have rejected him. 

For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord 

looks on the heart.” 

1 Samuel 16:7

 

“Look not on his appearance or at the height of his stature; for I have rejected him.” (emphasis mine)

 

I like to imagine that Eliab was the “Dwayne Johnson” of his time. He had everything a man would

want. He was a first born, an ultimate warrior, had the voice, and so on. Who wouldn’t want to be like him?

But the Lord rejected him!

The Lord only rejects those who reject Him (Matthew 10:33) so that’s what must have happened here.

Eliab trusted in himself. He didn’t need YAH.

His confidence was in himself. He didn’t look to YAH for help.

We can conclude that Eliab didn’t have a relationship with YAH.

 

There is a lesson we can take from this.

Where is your confidence? Are you depending on yourself, your resources, your education,

your upbringing?

Are those things stopping you from trusting the Lord.

The word is very clear about what YAH is looking at? He is not impressed with our show of strength.

He wants us to look to Him. He wants a relationship with us.

While Eliab was wrapped up in himself, David his brother was in the field getting closer to YAH.

His relationship with YAH was getting stronger and stronger.

He trusted the Lord completely. The Lord was his consuming passion night and day. He

communed with the Lord daily. He sang songs to Him.

 

The Lord called him a man after His own heart.

The Lord wants our hearts friends not our “strength”.

He is not impressed when we try to go at life on our own steam.

He wants to be first in our lives, not second.

He wants our hearts set on Him and nothing else.

 

ACT ON IT – Is the Lord first in your life?

What is stopping Him from being first?

 

Bless you friends

Rolain

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Truth About Your Life…..

THOUGHT OF THE DAY.

Lord, make me to know my end and [to appreciate] the measure of my days – what it is; let me know and realize how frail I am [how transient is my stay here]. Behold, You have made my days as [short as] handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight. Truly every man at his best is merely a breath! Selah [pause and calmly think of that]! Surely every man walks to and fro – like a shadow in a pantomime; surely for futility and emptiness he is in turmoil; each one heaps up riches, not knowing who will gather them.          Psalm 39: 4-6 

I have spoken on this scripture before but it has been on my mind lately. Do you realize just how fleeting our lives are? The word says, “every man at his best is merely a breath“! Our lives are not as long as we think they are!! Think about this. Adam lived a total of 930 years (Genesis 4:5) but even his life was just a breath!!! If his life was merely a breath all 930 years of it, just imagine yours??!! I hope you are beginning to see just how fleeting your life is. “My lifetime is as nothing in Your sight”, it goes on to say!!!! The problem is we act like we have all the time in the world when we don ‘t. Are you doing things that count? 60, 70, 80 years is really not that long. It is just a breath!

It is important to know how fleeting your life is so you can treat life with the respect it deserves!! When you know time is short you begin to see things differently. The important things of life become very clear to see. Grudges are forgotten about, people are forgiven, time is used wisely. My goal is to open your eyes to just how important the time God has given you is. Make your life count. Spend the time you have doing things that matter…….

Rolain

 

 

Relationships From A Friend’s Point of View……

 

Relationships!! When I say that I mean between a man and a woman. How do we carry ourselves around each other? As a man I see how we need help and grace! We are to honour God in the relationships we have, we are to put Him first as well. This post is directed more towards the men because as men we are called to lead. We are the ones who called to be the head. As men we can be so clueless at times hence this post. So if you are in a relationship and you don’t have a clue about what you supposed to be doing then this is the post for you. If you are not yet in one then this will help as well.

These are the thoughts of one of my best friends. She was kind enough to let me share it because I think it will give you an idea into how to treat a woman but more than that it will teach you how to honour the women God has placed in your lives.  It will teach you to treat her the way God wants you to treat her. We live in a world where relationships are painted as some small thing but it’s not. God created relationships.  We need strong relationships in our lives to grow and as men it’s our responsibility to lead the way. Women need us to be strong to lead. They need us to lead them deeper into God but to do that you as a man have to know! How can you be that man if you are clueless??? So let us move on.

*please note that this is not how all women think. This is how my friend thinks but she is a woman but not just any woman but a wise woman so I think there is a lot we can learn as men from what she has shared!!!
I am going to highlight a few things from what I have read and if I see a need to expound more on a point I will.

THOUGHTS OF A WOMAN ON RELATIONSHIPS

– In any interaction with a lady you BOTH need to decide, are we bringing each other closer to God or further away, and this also is true if she is just a friend, God needs to be at the centre.

This is so true. She is so right about that. If God is not at the centre of your relationship you are in trouble. God needs to be the focus of your relationship. He is not second or third or fourth! He is first!!
Men, it is our job to initiate where the relationship is going. It is our responsibility to lead the relationship towards God. Do not wait for the woman to start the conversation. You lead her! I read a quote the other day that said, “The greatest thing a man can do to a woman is to lead her closer to God than to himself.

– Games are for the court, field or the computer not a relationship and that goes for a friend too! You playing games and trying to get a reaction out of her leaves room for miscommunication, misinterpretation and it proves you are secure.

– A lady’s heart is a precious jewel and should be treated as such.

– Women are emotional, get over it and get used to it, it does not make them weak. Emotions are human. It’s HOW she deals with her emotions that is important.

– Study her, but she is not a test to be passed or failed. Never stop learning about her.

– (I really like this one 🙂 ) Be aware that a lady is always thinking 5 steps ahead of you in regards to this relationship whether purely friendship or something deeper, she is ALWAYS thinking and quite possibly taking what you say out of context, women look at details and will analyse them so you need to know that what you say IS IMPORTANT even if you are “joking”.

– The pace and direction of any relationship is dependent on the man. You are the leader, take responsibility for that. If she ends up going in the direction of a serious relationship do not blame her, you lead her that way!!!
(that is a hard one men)

– Your word means something…keep it and if you have not, man up and tell her!

– The best thing that you can do is be honest with her.

– You have no business  telling a lady how you feel about her if you are not prepared to act on those feelings.

I think I will stop there. I have given you a lot to think about. Relationships are so important. We need to guard the relationships we have. I hope your eyes have been opened but just beside been opened I hope you have been enlightened!!!
This is just a little of what I have been given but the bit I have shared should help you. Let us learn to honour God in the relatonships we have with each other!

Rolain.P