I am Elizabeth – Daughter of The Most High God, Servant, Speaker, and Writer

A little over a decade ago, The Lord through His manservant directed me to use my gift of writing to minister to others. Admittedly, I had reservations, many reservations. What would I write? Who would actually read what I had written? What medium would I use to share these writings? My midday musings, as I would call them. If I am to be completely frank, my apprehension was rooted in the fact that my concept of self was flawed. I had made plans for my life that had not materialized as I thought they should. Can I be transparent with you? The circumstances of my life were not ideal; I was overwhelmed by what appeared to be inadequacy and insufficiency all around me, as such I felt I lacked the authority to speak. So I continued my service in the church and put these instructions to the side, seemingly forgotten. Over the course of the last ten years, my life has changed dramatically: I am a wife, a mother, a homeowner, a landlord, a speaker, a burgeoning entrepreneur, and many more. All of these things the manifestation of answered prayer. Everything that I had perceived as a deficit was an opportunity for God to develop my character and move on my behalf. “Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4, AMP). In the midst of the peace I now dwell, The Lord has called to me, prompting me yet again to write. The same questions I had all those years ago still resonate in my mind but this time, I am not the focus of this endeavor, Christ is.

We are all familiar with the text from I Samuel 15 verses 22 and 23:

“Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed [is better] than the fat of rams.
“For rebellion is as [serious as] the sin of divination (fortune-telling),
And disobedience is as [serious as] false religion and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you as king.” (AMP)

When we read this Scripture in its entirety, Saul as God’s anointed had been given a clear instruction from God, that Samuel spoke in detail, perhaps to avoid miscommunication and assure no misunderstanding in the execution. The mission was to ‘utterly destroy’ (v.3) the Amalekites, a practice called herem in Hebrew or “the ban” in English, where no prisoner should be taken, and all spoil should be destroyed. This was a divine punishment from God as vengeance for attacks by the Amalekites, descendants of Esau, on the Israelites in the wilderness after wandering out of Egypt and in Canaan; The Lord would “completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven” (Exodus 17:14; Deuteronomy 25:17–19). As the things ‘devoted [for destruction]’ (Joshua 7:1, AMPC) exclusively belong to The Lord, so the violation of the ban was handled seriously: those who kept something ‘under the ban’ would themselves be put ‘under the ban’ or be destroyed. Against this clear order, Saul spared Agag, the king of the Amalek and the best of their animals, partially as a ‘trophy [of his victory]’ (v. 12). Samuel confronted Saul who had gone to Carmel to establish a monument in his own honor; any evidence of humility had gone. Saul preemptively said that he had obeyed God’s order before being asked, but God had already told Samuel the truth and could hear the sound of cattle, which had been spared from destruction. Saul attempted to deflect the blame by first directing it subtly to his soldiers who had brought them, saying that they would be slaughtered in a sacrifice to The Lord. In this case, delayed or partial obedience was disobedience, and the consequences were grave: God rejected Saul as the king of Israel and David was anointed in the following chapter. Despite this, God had shown Saul mercy as he was not immediately removed as king. I thank God that He, too, has shown me mercy and called me yet again into His service.

I pray you will be blessed as you read; I hope you share these writings with others. I pray that this blog will minister to you, just as it has to me.