March 25

The last verse of the book of Judges speaks loud doesn’t it? “in those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.” Today’s reading was about that wasn’t it? A town of men who acted like Sodomites. A tribe that refused to punish them. A country of people who made vows they shouldn’t have and then figured a sinful way around them. These were a people who did as they wanted.

“They had no king”, will not exactly. They had a king, in fact each of them had three kings – me, myself and I. God was supposed to be their king! God was supposed to rule them! He is the king of the earth and will extract nothing for His own good like an earthly king. Yet the Israelites, as we are about to read, wanted – no needed (so they thought) a king. (Because that is how everyone else does it).

Whenever I self rule I get into trouble. These days it isn’t sexual sins (like the Benjamites) and the more troubling outward sins, but nonetheless, it is trouble. It is the inner anxiety, the stress, the doubts that create a place for worry, lack of love and lack of joy. If I am honest, maybe a little paranoia creeps in as well. That thought that it is all not going to work out and people are against me. That all comes from self rule. God is teaching me that I can’t make it an hour without giving it to Him, without uttering words of praise, without directing my own soul, which is working hard for God, to His Lordship. It is my submission to my King that brings me life and keeps my foes defeated and keeps me living in the flow of His life.