After the Jewish people got to the promised land, God continued to provide them with judges, whom served as leaders. After a while, the Jews began to ask God for a king, they no longer wanted judges, they wanted to be like everyone else. So, a king was given to them. When Jesus stood before Pilate, Pilate asked the people of Israel if they wanted him to release Jesus unto them. They cried for him to release Barabbas. Barabbas was a murderer, and he was part of the rebellion against Rome. In the same manner as they had done many years before, the children of Israel rejected the leader/leadership God had sent. They rejected the judges and wanted a king, and now they rejected Christ and chose to have Barabbas among their ranks. I understand this was part of God’s plan, but there is a lesson to be learned here. There will be times that God gives us something, it may not be what we like, it may not be what we would choose, but it is what God knows we need to have in order to follow Him. The Jews had judges, which was the system that God wanted them to have, but then they quit following the Lord’s desire, and started following after the desires of their flesh. We must guard against following the desires of our flesh when we know they are contrary to God’s desires. We must follow God’s will. When God gives us something, even if it is not what we wanted, we need to work with it. We need to praise God for it, because He has a purpose for it, whether He gives it to us for a short time or for a long time. You may want a job with this company, but God gives you a job with a different company. You may want God to provide your needs in that way, but He chooses this way. God has a purpose, He will meet your need, He will give you what you need to accomplish His will and nothing less. There may be someone He wants to reach through you that you couldn’t have reached if your will had been done. God sees the big picture, where we are limited by the horizon. He sees ways that He can use you for His glory that you cannot see. This is why we must choose His will over our own. “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matthew 7:14. After we enter the strait gate, we are to continue down the path God leads us. We are not to turn to our own will, but to follow the strait and narrow way. God Bless!
