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Your Majesty, look at what I’m holding. You can see that it’s a piece of your robe. If I could cut off a piece of your robe, I could have killed you. But I let you live, and that should prove I’m not trying to harm you or to rebel. I haven’t done anything to you, and yet you keep trying to ambush and kill me. 1 Samuel 24:11 (CEV)
“You deserve this,” David thought as he watched Saul enter the cave where he was hiding with his small group of men.
It had to have been fate. Saul had been trying to kill David for years. Although David had been anointed King by the prophet there was no indication that the throne would be his anytime soon.
Creeping through the shadows, knife in hand, he moved closer to Saul who was preoccupied with relieving himself in what he thought was an empty cave. One slash with the knife and the kingdom was his; the kingdom that was rightfully his in the first place.
Great story, huh? Trouble is, that’s not what happened. No one would have blamed David for taking Saul out that day in the cave. He was an arrogant, angry, deranged man.
Did David have a right to kill Saul that day? Yes.
Did he have the opportunity to kill Saul? Certainly.
Did he have the power to kill Saul and execute revenge upon him? Definitely.
David’s action that day in the cave was not only an act of mercy, it showed meekness on David’s part. Meekness isn’t the same as weakness, in fact meekness is just the opposite. Meekness is power under control. David chose to act with integrity and set aside his rights in order to wait for God’s timing to get the kingdom promised him.
Our culture has taught us that success comes from being the strongest; from standing up for your rights; from being the best at all costs. But Jesus says “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”
Meekness isn’t something that comes naturally. It’s part of our human nature to want to be on top, to succeed, to receive the accolades, the relationships and the status (power) to overcome.
There are many other examples of people in the Bible who chose not to use their power and rights to overcome those who were against them. His name was Jesus Christ. As God in the flesh, Jesus was misunderstood, mistreated, mocked and eventually killed. He had every right to put a stop to the way he was treated, but he didn’t because in order to give you life he had to renounce his own rights.
Setting aside your rights for others isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of Christ-likeness.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus it’s so easy to get caught up in the desire to be right, to take what is mine, to demand my own way. Especially when I’m pretty sure I’m right. Give me wisdom and strength to be strong enough to be meek. In your name I pray, Amen.
Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. Hebrews 12:3 (NLT)
While doing my student teaching I was also a volunteer for the schools football team. The team had a rich history of dominance in the region and won the state championship the year I helped. One of the drills that I remember the team running through was a drill in which a single blocker was matched up against two or three other teammates. Their assignment was to protect a football on the ground three feet behind him. One man against three. Not good odds.
The amazing thing to me is the number of times ‘David beat Goliath’. There were no trophies involved. No newspaper interviews. No accolades. Why did they work so hard? Pride. Pride in saying I accomplished my task. I reached my goal. I protected the ball.
In a speech to his alma mater Winston Churchill stated, “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.”
You may be up against some seemingly insurmountable obstacle today. Perhaps you are in conflict with someone you love, or you are in financial crisis. Maybe you or a loved one are facing an illness that has little chance of successful treatment. It could be that you have a strong desire to change the world for Jesus, yet you feel all your efforts are futile. You want to do so much for Jesus but all our efforts seem to fall short.
The enemy of our souls wants to keep us in bondage to the feelings of insecurity and failure. He delights in seeing us question our abilities and our chances at success. He whispers words of discouragement and doubt every step of the way.
When the enemy encourages you to give up remember the goal you are striving for. Remember that our hero in the faith; our teacher; our source of power also endured ridicule and resentment. He battled the whispers of doubt, the rejection of family and friends; the misunderstanding of those who claimed allegiance. Yet in all this, he didn’t give up. Why? He remember the goal. He remembered the prize. He remembered who he was doing all this for…and that person was you.
Again, from Churchill, “The pessimist sees the problems in every opportunity. Whereas the optimist sees the opportunity in every problem”
As believers in Jesus Christ we have access to the mightiest power in the universe. As you go forth to face the challenges of the day remember that you have one walking beside you that knows the bitter taste of adversity, but also has experienced ultimate victory – Jesus Christ, our Lord.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, as I face the temptations, the doubts and all the other obstacles of my day, may I remember that you were not only victorious over your battles, you fight beside me in mine. Amen.
Then Job gave a feast for his brothers and sisters and for his old friends. They expressed their sorrow for the suffering the Lord had brought on him, and they each gave Job some silver and a gold ring. Job 42:11 (CEV)
A friend of mine was in a horrific accident a few years ago. Before the accident John (not his real name) was known for his temper. When things were going well he was a friendly cordial business man in our small town. When things weren’t going well everyone knew to stay out of his way. The problem escalated when John had been drinking. He wasn’t just an angry man, he was (by his own admission) and angry alcoholic.
As a result of his accident, John lost both of his legs. He was in a medically induced coma for several weeks to allow the brain and body to heal properly. When the day came to wake him up, everyone was ready for the worst. It didn’t happen. John woke up fully accepting the news of his legs and with a completely different personality. John also woke up completely surrendered to Jesus Christ.
John tells me that he had accepted Christ over 15 years earlier, but had chosen to live his own way. He was never happy. Guilt was a part of his life. Misery was temporarily dulled by chemicals but the chemicals always demanded more.
John is quick to tell anyone that will listen that the accident that took his legs was no accident at all. It was God’s way of bringing him to complete surrender to him. He takes full responsibility for his actions.
When horrible things happen to you or to others, how do you respond? Do you become bitter? Do you become angry? Do you play your entire deck of blame game cards? Sometimes things happen in our lives that we can point to as direct consequences of our actions. Other times, things happen in our lives for no apparent reason. How we respond in either situation tells us what our character is like.
John will tell you he is suffering the consequences of sin. Job was a man in the Bible who suffered terribly as well. He lost his children, his wealth and his health. Yet he remained faithful to God. God never explained to Job why he allowed those things to happen, but when his time of testing was over he was completely restored. Once restored Job held a great party for all his family and friends. He wasn’t bitter about his losses. He wasn’t angry over unwarranted pain and suffering. He was thankful to a God who is both mysterious and faithful. When God allows something unjust or justified to happen to us we can become angry, we can become bitter or we can endure and then celebrate.
PRAYER: Father God, when I’m honest with myself I have to admit that many of my struggles are my own doing and I deserve what I get. Other times I question your actions. Show me how I can live a life of celebration based on who you are, not on what I want. Amen.
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 (NLT)
It’s hard to let go of things. There’s an age old story about how people used to catch monkeys. The story has several versions and may or may not be true. However, its message is worth a repeat here. In the story a jar or coconut was used to catch a monkey by putting peanuts through the opening. The neck of the vessel was small enough for a monkey to put its open hand in so it could grab the peanuts. However, the opening was too small for it to remove his clenched fist. As the story goes, the monkey would be so intent on keeping its prize (the peanuts) that he would be easily captured with its hand ‘in the cookie jar’, so to speak.
Like the monkey each of us has those things in our lives that are hard to let go of. It could be the pain of rejection; a broken or unfulfilled relationship; the emotional scars of abuse; fear of failure; the loss of a dream or the guilt of our poor choices and mistake ridden past. Reality is, it doesn’t really matter what the ‘peanuts’ in our lives are, until we can let go of them we are trapped.
The writer to the Hebrews relates a similar situation when he encourages his readers to get rid of everything that holds us down. He uses the analogy of a runner getting rid of any extra clothing so that nothing would encumber them. In the ancient Olympic games runners ran nude (or nearly so) in order to be completely free of anything that would keep them from winning.
Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted”. Normally we associate mourning with death and while that is the most severe type of mourning, there are many other ways in which we mourn. Those things we mourn over become the ‘peanuts’ in our lives.
The good news is that Jesus came to give comfort for the things that cause pain; that cause mourning in our lives. Never lose sight of the fact that Jesus Christ desperately wants to comfort you in your pain. He came to earth so that we could have relationship with him, freedom from guilt. His purpose isn’t to laden us with more rules or remind us of our failures. His purpose is to give us freedom.
The problem is those ‘peanuts’. We need to let go of the pain. We need to let go of the anger and resentment. We need to let go of the false belief that we are a failure. We need to let go of the lofty dreams of a fairy tale existence where everyone lives happily ever after. The Apostle Paul tells us that until we let go of those things, God cannot free us.
When we truly let go of our sin and negative feelings, He will come in and comfort us and show us the true meaning of relationship and forgiveness. Let the following prayer be your gateway to letting go and getting life.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus. It seems like I can’t let go of this feeling of guilt, remorse, anger [fill in your own pain]. I try so hard to make the right choices and they blow up in my face. I’m asking you today to forgive me and help me to live for you. Help me change the things that need changing and let go of the things that keep me from life. Amen.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3 (NIV)
Jesus tells the story of a man who was beaten and robbed by a bunch of thugs. Severely injured and left on the road to die, he was without hope. Soon two men came upon his beaten, bruised and battered body. Each of them took stock of the situation and decided it was best if they moved on. The third man, a hated Samaritan came along and saw the man laying there in a pool of blood. Realizing there was no time to waste, he bandaged the man’s wounds and brought him to safety. He had compassion on him.
Compassion. The dictionary defines it as a consciousness of someone else’s distress with an urgent desire to alleviate it. Sympathy is understanding and perhaps even sharing the emotions of another person in distress, but compassion takes that a step farther by seeking ways in which to alleviate the pain.
James tells us, what good is it, when you see someone in need to say “I’ll pray for you, I feel bad about your plight.” (My paraphrase from James 2) Referring back to our example of the story Jesus told. Let’s give the first two men that came upon the victim some credit. Let’s say, for the sake of argument that they stopped, looked and even prayed over the man who was beaten to a bloody pulp. Of what benefit were there prayers.
It’s interesting that Jesus chose the characters he did. The two that passed by were ‘the religious elite’ of the day. The type of people any pastor would love to have on their board or staff. The one that stopped to give compassion would be looked down upon in most churches.
Perhaps you are the one wounded on the side of the road. You’ve had a history of abuse and abandonment. Your wounds aren’t readily visible to those around you, but the pain is unbearable. Perhaps those bruises were given to you in the name of the church, or for your own good.
Paul writes to the church in Corinth to remind them that we are to be examples of God. God is the one that not only stops to look at your pain, He’s the one that stoops to our level, bandages your wounds, and comforts you in your pain. You may think you have fallen too far. You may think your wounds too deep. You may say you have nothing to offer.
That’s the beauty of our God. None of us have anything of any value to offer him for his kindness. None of us have the resources to purchase his forgiveness. We are comforted only because of his grace.
PRAYER: Father God. I praise you for the assurance we have that you will bandage our wounds and show us your compassion. We are a needy people. We are a wounded people. Thank you for the comfort you offer us through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 