1 SAMUEL 7:1-4 – And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.

THEME OF THE DAY. YOU CAN’T HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO. Twenty years. Did we catch that in today’s scripture? That is how long the people of God were seeking Him. And for twenty years He remained detached and distant from them. Twenty years is a long time. Twenty years of praying, crying out in anguish, lamenting over tough circumstances and God met them with His silence. That is tough to take. On the surface, there appeared to be a genuine seeking of the Lord. I mean, twenty years of praying shows resolve, perseverance, and commitment, right? Well, yes and no. The mechanics of seeking God showed resolve, perseverance and commitment but their hearts didn’t. And Samuel knew why they were experiencing the absence of God’s felt presence and a noticeable absence in their awareness of Him. It was sin. Undealt with sin. To borrow a familiar idiom, God’s people “wanted their cake and eat it too.” Well, the real idiom is “You can’t have your cake and eat it.” There is a spiritual lesson here for us.

God’s people in today’s scripture seemed to want God to be their God, but deep in their hearts, where it really matters, they also wanted their will and way. In fact, Samuel exposed their idolatry and false worship. In a spiritual sense, they really did want “their cake and eat it too.” Or we might say, “They wanted the benefits of the Lord without the gut-wrenching demands of self-denial and self-death to know the Lord.” And we are too often the same. We want God’s blessing upon us and will even earnestly pray to those ends, but only if His answers accommodate our wills and desires. Many prayers may seem to reach “deaf” Divine ears and it might be because we have a divided heart; wanting our wills and the pleasures of the world AND God’s presence and will. And, friends, that will never happen. God will treat us like He did His children in today’s scripture. He will not take second place in anyone’s life and heart. The Lord Jesus Christ is a jealous God. He will not share His Lordship or the throne room in our hearts with anyone or anything. He is so good, so loving, so holy, and deserves a heart undivided in our loyalty to Him. Perhaps a reason why He is not as real to us as He desires; perhaps a reason why our prayer lives are dull and routine; perhaps a reason why church seems boring; and perhaps a reason why our hearts don’t burn with desire for the salvation of the lost is because of a divided heart. Maybe we are trying to share Christ with other people, affections and desires in our lives instead of Him being the chief affection and desire in our lives. Remember, there is no room for shared Lordship when it comes to our Lord Jesus. He is either Lord of all or not Lord at all. But we have hope . . .

Samuel gives God’s people hope. He says, “If you really want God; if you really want to walk with Him, He will grant those lamenting cries under two conditions. First, make Him the chief affection of your heart – no rivals. And put away anything or anyone that assumes that role in our lives. Whether it be a material thing, a pleasure, or a person, put them in the proper place – subordinate to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. No, we cannot have our cake and eat it too, but that is good. Having God and His will guide our lives instead of our will is far more satisfying.

PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I want to have not only Your will in my life but mine also.”

QUOTE: “Christ will not share His Lordship or the throne room in our hearts with anyone or anything.”