I have had a severe head cold for this past week. I have not been able to breathe properly and my mind lacks the valued commodity of oxygen to operate at full capacity. Rational thought has escaped me. During this process I had two choices; to soldier on as best I could or to wait until I have recovered.

No one would have suffered at my expense for being less than my best. I had to make a choice and that was to wait. While I am feeling better, I am still not operating at 100%. I am not going to try and act noble about my reasoning, “My Utmost for My Highness”. That wasn’t even part of my consideration.

While my reasoning powers were diminished my emotions were not. Experience has taught me not to trust my emotions. They are the weakest part of the human psyche and most prone to influences of the enemy. Without a clear rational mind to sort the details into perspective, wisdom would fail me and I would not be used to glorify God.

Lately I have taken this journey of discovery as if a new believer, feeling and learning as if a new creature for the very first time. I have covered much of those rational thoughts as I could remember but failed to cover the issue of being sick. There is no point in trying to act all noble. That is would be an act. Being sick or injured is a reality of life and being real in these moments is as much an opportunity for others to serve God as it is for us to feel like a member of the body of Christ.

This is merely a head cold. If it had been something more I would have reached out. Others reached out because they knew my dedication to this service and my missing even one post was noticed. That is the way it should be.

Have you let yourself be known to others?

1 Samuel 8:20b that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

If your answer to my question about which king God was describing was any or all kings between Saul and Herod I accept your answers as valid. If on the other hand you said Jesus Christ, then I would ask you to look at what God said and compare them to the above verse. Nowhere in that description did God’s prophetic word include these three elements.

Now the elders before Samuel added those items as an indication of what they were looking for and only in Christ were they provided. God never promised them a king before Christ that would meets those needs. He provided them with exactly what they deserved.

1 Samuel 8:19-20a Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations;

You cannot serve the King of kings and be like the world.

Now for the most important part of any bible study.

Did God show you anything we did not cover?

No bible study should cover every minute detail in such depth that it leaves no room for discovery of God speaking to a disicple about other issues. Good teachers leave the corners of the field untouched so that grains may be gleaned independent of the plow they operate.

I intentionally left some nuggets out there for you to discover. Will you share those gems with me?

I will entertain any question with an open heart.