1 Samuel 9:21
“And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?”
My brother and I were recently in a conversation where he told me about a quote from a Louis L’amour book that said, “There are two kinds of people in this world, those who wish, and those who will. The world and its goods will belong to those who will.” We discussed how our society is filled with people who wish they had things but never do anything about it, but that there are a few people who, in spite of background and obstacles, will their way into success.
Saul reminds me of the type of person who had a will to do something with his life. Israel desired for a king, and God told Samuel to go and anoint Saul to be king over Israel. When Samuel came and told Saul that God chose him to be king, Saul said, “Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?” Saul was acknowledging that his background was not the best, and that he did not grow up in a family with wealth. Yet, God still chose him to be king.
Saul is a great example to all that it doesn’t matter what your background may be, if you have a will to do something with your life, then you can. It doesn’t matter what your family may be like, you can always move past your family background and make something of your life if you have the will to do it. Your background and unfortunate situations in your life can either be an obstacle, or they can be opportunities that you will yourself above.
Friend, wishing that you could do something with your life will get you nowhere. This world is filled with people who wish they had something, and all they do is have their hand out waiting for the next giveaway. People who wish someone would give them an inheritance, or wish the government would come up with another program to make them wealthy will always stay in their miserable condition. Wishing has never moved one person out of their present condition.
The only thing that will cause you to rise above your background and condition is your will. If you have a will to do something with your life, then you can rise above where you are and make something of it. I am not saying that you are going to become wealthy or popular, but what I am saying is that you can make something of your life.
When you look through the Scriptures, you will find that God used people who didn’t wish, but they had a will to do something greater. They picked themselves up by their bootstraps and worked as hard as they could, and God helped them. The same can be said for today. God will help you if you have the will to start working your way up instead of using excuses for why you can’t do anything with your life.
What are you going to do? Are you going to wish you could have a better life, or are you going to have the will to pull yourself out of where you are and do something with it. Yes, it always takes God’s help, but God will not help until you will yourself to take the first step. God helped Job out of his miserable condition after he had the will to get up and take a step towards doing something.
God says in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” I challenge you today to stop wishing and start doing something about your situation. When you start doing something about it is when you will see God step in and show His power through your life.