Let Him do what seems good to Him

Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him." – 1 Samuel 3v18

Poor old Eli. Once again I can almost feel for the guy. Samuel had just told him all the bad news about his downfall because of the sins of his sons that had gone unchecked. Eli had to have known that eventually this would happen. He knew his family was a wreck, he knew things had not gone the right way. And surely He knew that the Lord would not be pleased. His sons were ‘vile’ and he had done nothing to stop them.

So judgement was coming. How could Eli respond? How can we respond when God acts? How can we respond when we can’t understand why God does what He does? How can we respond when we do know?

Eli may have blown it, but he did get one thing right. ‘It is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to him.’ Maybe this was some kind of sarcastic defeatism, I don’t know the heart behind the words. There is however, wisdom in the words spoken.

Whether Eli’s words were words of faith or sarcasm, for us may they come from the heart when we face the challenges of life and realise – ‘it is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to Him.’