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And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 1 Samuel 23:16
David was just a simple shepherd boy given a huge opportunity by God. Being a shepherd was a lonely existence in which you would sometimes spend months alone in the hills with just a bunch of sheep, facing the elements, attack by wildlife and tending to a bunch of animals prone to wander off.
All that changed when David was thrust into the political spotlight as a result of God’s choice for him to be king. He must have felt every emotion imaginable during this time of his life. Loneliness and fear may have gripped him from time to time in the hill country. But he learned during that time to trust God for safety, wisdom and provision.
He no doubt was overwhelmed when the Prophet, Samuel, anointed him and informed him and his family that David would be the next King of Israel. The excitement of the possibilities no doubt grew when he was invited into the palace to live with King Saul. Here he learned the political ins and outs of ruling a country.
He learned to be patient during the confusing times when the king tried to kill him during Saul’s frequent fits of rage and anger. Where was God’s promise? Why did he bring me here only to face more danger? David knew how to fight lions and bears, not kings.
There must have been times he was ready to give up on God’s promise. To return to the hills and tend sheep as his family had done for years. But something kept him going. One of those things was a friendship with Saul’s own son, Jonathan. Time after time Jonathan intervened on David’s behalf, risking his own life so that David would be safe.
Jonathan had nothing to gain and everything to lose being David’s friend. David was the one person who stood before him and the throne. He was well aware of the fact that in order for David to be King he would have to die. Yet he encouraged David to be strong and encouraged his faith by telling him to stay strong.
In each of our lives we encounter hardships and trials. These are painful life experiences that seem to want to sap the energy and strength from our very lives. During these times we need to seek out good, Godly friendships. We need people who we can rely on to encourage us during the down times, be honest with us when we need to hear honesty and listen to us when we just need to vent.
Surround yourselves with sincere, Jesus following friends who lift you up and spur you on to greatness. Godly friends are those who selflessly encourage us to rely on God and pursue the very best for our lives.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank you for the examples you give us in the Bible of true friends such as Jonathan and David. Lead me into circles of your followers who will listen to my dreams, be patient with my struggles and lead me into a closer relationship with you so that I can attain all you want me to be. Amen.
That same night the LORD said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the LORD your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.” Judges 6:25-26
Gideon was chosen by God to do mighty things for the people of Israel. God’s people were under constant attack from enemies that surrounded them. From time to time He chose common, ordinary, unsuspecting people to do courageous, heroic, acts of deliverance for his people. Often these people were not only unsuspecting but somewhat unwilling to do the task prepared for them.
Perhaps no one was more hesitant than Gideon. When he received God’s word that he was the new go-to guy for Israel’s deliverance he balked at the idea. He wasn’t strong enough, powerful enough or wise enough to be a hero. Besides, from Gideon’s perspective, his family tree was a mess. The backyard at home was strewn idols and altars to false gods.
God saw things differently that Gideon. Gideon measured the possibility of success according to his strength. God measured success by God’s ability and willingness to use Gideon for the purposes He had ordained. God did not wait for Gideon to become a spiritual role model. He didn’t choose him because of his standing among his people. God told him to simply “go in the strength you have”. He refused to let Gideon’s heritage be an excuse for God’s ability to use him in a mighty way. Gideon went on to lead the people of Israel to great victories over their enemies.
People still use the same excuse Gideon used when approaching life. We base our success ratio on the heritage handed down to us from our parents or those in our family tree. We measure our dreams according to ‘the cards we’ve had dealt to us’ without adding the ‘God factor.’ The only ones that should be tied to the family tree are monkeys. They were born there and will spend their entire lives there.
The mistakes, abuse and poverty of our youth should not keep us from living up to the potential we have through Christ. He isn’t interested in our past. He is only interested in how he can use us for his glory in the future. God can use us even if we are unsure, outnumbered or weak. He alone is our strength and our deliverer.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I thank you for the fact that You can use me no matter how strong or weak I may feel. I thank you for Jesus and His forgiveness. Like Gideon, I have some idols in my yard, things that keep me from pursuing you. Please forgive me for not believing. Empower me through your Holy Spirit to remove those idols so that you can work through me in mighty ways. Amen.
Yes, the Day is coming when people will notice The One Who Made Them, take a long hard look at The Holy of Israel. They’ll lose interest in all the stuff they’ve made—altars and monuments and rituals, their homemade, handmade religion—however impressive it is. Isaiah 17:7-8 (The Message)
Isaiah gives the people of Israel hope for the future. As usual, it seems, God’s people had once more strayed from the relationship they had with God. They had become distracted with making money, building for the future and making life as comfortable as possible.
God was ‘in their lives’ but He was just a part of many other things going on. He was a safety net. God, or in this case religion had become an activity, not a relationship. They believed that everything would be okay as long as they did all the rituals of ‘church’ and said the right things.
The Israelites hadn’t gotten to that point overnight. It was a slow gradual process like the frog in a boiling pot of water. Put a frog in hot water he jumps immediately to safety. Put him in cool water and turn on the heat he will boil to death as his body adjusts to the heat to a deadly level. When death comes it comes quickly.
Jesus doesn’t ask for 99% of our lives. He wants all of us, 100% or more! When we harbor sin, ignore our spiritual food or make our relationship a ritual, we will lose touch with what the spiritual life, the Christ-life’ is all about. It’s easy to do. We seek after houses and toys and ‘respect’ and power. Even under the name of ministry or serving God. But beware of making our actions and our accomplishments the basis of our spiritual being. Just as with Israel, the walls of our accomplishments can come crashing down.
Sometimes, it takes the destruction of the ‘walls of our accomplishments’ to see Jesus in all His fullness. It’s when we reach bottom that we can renew our life in Him and restore that relationship. Fortunately that is JUST what He wants. Jesus isn’t impressed with the church you attend (or lead) or the number of Bible Studies you attend, or the fact that you’ve read the Bible through every year for 50 years, or that you have remained faithful to your spouse for 75 years, or that you sing worship songs (add your own activities to this list).
These are all things, activities, actions. Some are very valuable. But it’s the heart that matters. It’s about relationship. Jesus spent more time reaching out to those of us that had failed, that struggled with our faith, our family, our kids and our jobs than He did the ‘nice clean religious folks of his day’.
Forget your past. Forget the accomplishments you’ve made for whatever the reason. Where is your heart?
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Thank you for the many things you have given me. Thank you for all of my gifts, my talents and my accomplishments. Forgive me for the times when I’ve made those accomplishments into idols that displace the relationship you want with me. Empower me through your Spirit to have a heart that is right with you. Amen
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:11
The people of God were in exile in a far off land. They’d been separated from family, their homes and most importantly the ability to worship God freely. Psalm42 is a song that was written during this time of hopelessness. They longed for way things used to be. For the ability to sing their songs, to meet with family and hear God’s word.
Now, all that was gone. They were taunted and harassed by people who didn’t believe as they did. They were constantly reminded by the people in this new land that their God was weak and perhaps even dead. They were called fools for the way they desired to worship. Lies were told about them. It was a very terrible and lonely time.
The ‘prison’ the Israelites found themselves in was a real one. They were slaves and told what to do, where to go, what to eat. They had very little say in any part of their lives. Some even died as a result of the hardship.
Even though we may not be in a prison with walls, sometimes we can find ourselves in a prison without walls. We look back to times in our lives when life was good. We had a family, we had a good job, and the kids listened to us. Now, we long for those times.
There are lots of things that can put us in a prison without walls. Divorce, illness, financial disaster, job loss, rebellious kids or any other number of issues can make us long for the ‘good ole’ days’. They bring pain and despair into our lives. But those issues aren’t the walls. The walls are how we react to the issues.
The issues of life cause us to feel ashamed, lonely, guilty, and angry and any number of other emotions. The way we react to the struggles of life builds walls around us that keep us from experiencing all the good that our loving Heavenly Father has for us.
No matter what is going on in your life God loves you. It doesn’t matter if the things happening to you are a result of your own poor choices or the evil inflicted by other, abusive people. Jesus loves you. It doesn’t matter if you once ‘were a good Christian’ and now have walked away from the faith. Jesus wants to welcome you back with open arms.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Right now you know the struggle I’m going through. You know my pain, my shame, my guilt. My enemy attacks me. My finances are a disaster. I feel completely defeated. Please tear down these walls that keep me from experiencing all that you have for me. Help me to live by the measurement of your standards and not the standards others seek to force on me. Amen.
She was thinking to herself, “If I can just put a finger on his robe, I’ll get well.” Jesus turned – caught her at it. Then he reassured her: “Courage, daughter. You took a risk of faith, and now you’re well.” The woman was well from then on. Matthew 9:21-22
It had been twelve long agonizing years. Nothing the doctors could do to help. In her day medicine was far less effective than it is today. Not only was there physical fatigue from the constant blood loss, there was the religious and social stigma as well. She may as well have been a leper! According to the Law she was unclean.
We only know her as the woman ‘with the issue of the blood’! A few short verses and she’s gone. Just a blip on the screen of Scripture. But there is something that I admire about her and that is her tenacity. I’m not sure many of us can really comprehend the social, emotional, spiritual and of course physical struggle this woman must have endured throughout those 12 years.
It would have been easy to give up. No one would have blamed her if she had turned into an angry, bitter woman, yet we see none of that. It would have been completely understandable if she’d turned her back on God in anger for the ‘injustice’ that fell upon her.
Something drove her to that street that day. Something deep down inside her never let her give up hope that someday, somehow God would heal her. That’s courage. That is quiet strength. The refusal to let anything keep us from pursuing God’s best for us, even when all the odds seem stacked against us.
Don’t give up. John Eldredge talks about ‘the great wound’ as being that event or events in our past that have hurt us deeply and can keep us from trusting God completely. Just as He did with this woman, Jesus has come to heal the wound that each of us bears. By His touch the wound can be healed.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I thank you that you know the pain that I’ve been bearing for so long. I thank you that even during those times when I feel all alone you are there, waiting for me to come into your arms. I reach out to you today. I touch the fringes of your robe and ask you to heal me. I love you. Thank you for loving me. Amen
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 