God Our King - All Our Daily Bread Daily Devotionals for 2026

It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 1 Samuel 8:7

1 Samuel 8:4-9

Today's Scripture
1 Samuel 8:4-9

Today's Devotion
After being jobless for a year, Ethan finally got a good offer—but his wife stopped him from accepting it. “Is this good for you?” she asked. “It’s a night shift, so you’ll struggle to attend church on Sunday mornings, like with your previous job.” After praying and mulling over it, Ethan decided to turn down the offer. While there was nothing wrong with it, he knew it wouldn’t be good for him. Months later, he got another job—a day shift—that allowed him to attend church regularly.

Not all decisions that seem logical are God-honoring or wise. For example, it seemed natural for the Israelites to ask for a king. The prophet Samuel’s sons weren’t fit to lead (1 Samuel 8:3), and other nations seemed to be doing well with a king (vv. 5, 20). But God warned them about trusting solely in people; only He was their true king who could protect and provide for them perfectly (vv. 7, 11-18). Still, the Israelites insisted (v. 19), leading God to tell Samuel, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king” (v. 7). Later, the Israelites would suffer under the rule of a string of evil kings.

Human wisdom can lead us to rely on ourselves rather than God. His ways may be counterintuitive, but they’re truly wise and lead to good. May we learn to trust Him and accept His rule in our lives, for He alone is our loving King.

Reflect & Pray
What decisions are you facing now? How can you seek God’s guidance and wisdom in making them?

Dear God, please teach me to trust in Your ways and follow them so I can obey and please You in all I do.

Today's Insights
Key to understanding today’s Scripture (1 Samuel 8:4-9) is another passage that contains God’s instructions to Israel during their flight from Egypt. He told them, “The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6). He also said, “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you . . . and you say, ‘Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,’ be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses” (17:14-15). Despite their privileged status as His chosen people, He knew His people would yearn to be like the nations surrounding them. When Samuel prayed, God told him, “They have rejected me as their king” (1 Samuel 8:7). Yet they remained His people, and God did indeed choose their human king (9:16). We can remember today that God’s wisdom is available in every decision we make.

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Leslie Koh