1 Samuel 8:4-6 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.

I really admire Samuel’s integrity here. He overlooked the personal attack on himself and his children. He looked past that and at their attitude about God.

“You are old and useless and we hate your kids.”

How would you respond to comments like that? It is really hard to hear but those words, no matter how true they might be, are masks to the real problem. So often the devil hides his true intentions behind personal attacks. We have to get past that to see what is truly going on.

God’s reply to Samuel reveals the truth; “for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me”. If you know this up front it just might help you as you serve the Lord. It is not a personal rejection, no matter how it sounds.

Luke 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

It sure feels personal but it is nothing more than a mask they hide behind. You should see the one they serve, Satan.

Now comes the really hard part, the part I didn’t quote in God’s response to Samuel in verse 7. “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee:” We have to trust that God is at work in these people’s lives and they are not ready to receive the good news. Not yet anyway.

Proverbs 20:7 (AMP) The righteous man who walks in integrity and lives life in accord with his [godly] beliefs How blessed [happy and spiritually secure] are his children after him [who have his example to follow].

We return once again to this line of thinking to explore yet another opportunity. That is the issue of personal responsibility. Being happy and spiritually secure in the sanctification of Samuel was no guarantee that his sons would follow in his footsteps.

This type of sanctification is an umbrella of separation and protection afforded the children of those who walk with God in integrity. They are only afforded that protection as long as they remain under that umbrella of protection. Once we move out from under it, we are either sanctified unto the Lord ourselves and walk in integrity or we lose that protective covering.

No one cares who your daddy was, be that preacher, teacher, prophet or priest. You cannot remain under that protective covering forever and you are not meant to stay there. Each and every one of us has to choose for ourselves the Lord Jesus Christ. My daddy’s salvation is not mine. I must obtain my own.

What do you answer when anyone asks you about your faith? Do you answer with the name of some administration of faith like Baptist or Methodist or Catholic or non-denominational? That is a quick thoughtless answer and the one they probably mean. Is your faith in Christ or is it in your relationship with men? Being of any particular denomination is no more a guarantee of salvation than being the son of Samuel.

Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Notice the psalm says my and not our. Salvation is personal and not congregational.