26 ¶ Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD.
Literally, to the Hebrew, this would have been a wise piece of keen advice. You may seek the ruler’s commendation, his approval, but when all is said and done anything you receive is from the Lord. We, as finite human beings, truly don’t know and realize all of the reasons that the Lord permits things to happen for us.
We attempt to make the best of our lives, to select a school to go to or a trade to learn, a spouse to marry, a car to drive, a home to live in, and on and on but what we don’t realize is that while we seek a certain conclusion to life’s questions and uncertainties in one direction, the answer comes from the Lord.
God’s will is called directed and permissive. It is directed when He purposely does something to you or for you. It is permissive when He allows something to happen to you. You actually get only one choice in life. Who will you follow? Will you follow the Lord? Worship your Self? The world? People can be divided down into those few who know that everything comes from the hand of God ultimately, those who believe that they are the captains of their own fates and the masters of their own destiny, and those who just want what the world system has to offer and hope for a relatively painless existence. But, although we may seek favor from the world, every single one of us receives good or bad from God.
You may stand before a judge and beg his mercy but if you get it then it is the Lord’s mercy because the judge’s mind will be directed, unknown to him, by the Lord. You will apply for a job, having never once asked God to direct you, following your own will, but it is God who will determine whether the employer will offer you the job. How does He have time to do all of these things for all of these people? He has eternity to answer our finite prayers and to direct our finite lives.
Follow the God of the Bible through Jesus Christ. Seek favor from him alone. That is ultimately the source of all judgment.
Exodus 7:13 And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
For Saul’s disobedience and vanity his heart was troubled by the Lord.
1Samuel 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
Man does not direct his own steps.
Jeremiah 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Why did God permit you to do evil? Because you are evil. Why did God save you in spite of yourself? Because of His mercy, because He is good. Each day all of your choices can be boiled down to one choice you make repeatedly throughout the day. Whom do you follow? Who is your master?
Outside of that you have very little control. You can prepare yourself with a Harvard education, a lifetime fitness plan, a nutritionist, and the best medical care on the planet. Then you can die of an aneurysm at the age of twenty five.
You can seek every good citizen award, be knighted by the Queen, given a medal by the President, and then have someone plant drugs in your car or porn on your computer and go down in flames before the public. The seeds of your greatest failure are often sown in the ecstasy of your greatest success. God is in control, not you.
Now is the time to follow Christ, to believe in Him, and to trust Him for eternal life. Now is the time to acknowledge God’s hand in everything and seek to obey Him but most of all to be thankful. Now is the time to understand that God has a purpose for your life. Life requires too many miracles of inanimate, dead things to be a random accident. No one has ever seen or performed an experiment where biological life was created from inert matter. Life always comes from life. God created you, He controls your destiny, and even directs your will. You seek whom you will follow, obey, trust, and worship.
When you seek favor from a ruler, a boss, a VIP of any stripe, remember, what you receive will be from the Lord based on His will for you. This is one reason we are told to be constantly in a state of prayer, keeping our minds on God.
Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
1Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
So, today, try this exercise out and let me know what happens. Seek God’s will in everything you do. Do everything for the glory of God. Be thankful for your food committing it to your body and your body to the service of God.
Romans12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And remember, when you ask someone for something or seek their approval, what you get will come from God. Don’t curse your bad luck or blame the Devil who, as we learn from the book of Job can do nothing to you that God hasn’t permitted him to do. There is a purpose.
Remember that Jesus told Pilate that Pilate could do nothing to Him without God’s permission?
John 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
So, choose this day who you will serve and whose favor you will seek. But know that in the end what happens comes from God.
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