On Whom Do You Focus Your Hope?

The words of today’s scripture were spoken over Saul by the Prophet Samuel, just before Samuel anointed Saul with oil and appointed him the first king over Israel. God’s people had requested a king so they could be like the nations around them, and God reluctantly gave them what they had requested. God was already their king and they didn’t need another, but they would not be persuaded otherwise.

When I read today’s scripture, it pierced me like a sword. The Lord God Almighty should have been the ‘focus of all Israel’s hopes’, yet Saul and his family became the focus. They transferred their hopes to him, forgetting that it was God who had brought them out of Egypt, through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Israel still confessed Him as their God and Samuel as His Prophet, but their focus was now also on a man, and a ‘wibbly wobbly’ one at that!

This causes me to question myself. Who do I ultimately put my hope in? Is it politicians, church leaders, or even my spouse? Above all else, my hope and focus should be on God, who does not change and is a very present help in times of trouble. Over and over in the scriptures we are exhorted to put our hope in God and not in man.

That does not mean that all men are unreliable or untrustworthy, because they are not. God can, and does, do amazing things through imperfect people with hearts after Him. The important thing is that we keep our focus on God and place our hope firmly in Him.

When I was a teenager, I used to sing a song which illustrates this point perfectly: ‘When the earth all around me is sinking sand, on Christ the solid rock I stand. When I need shelter, when I need a friend, I’ll go to the Rock’. May this be your confession too.

Prayer: Father God, above everything else, I firmly place my hope in You. You are my Deliverer. You are my Strong Tower. You are my God, in whom I will trust, in Jesus’ name, Amen.