How big is too big for God?
15 Apr 26
Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One
Readings:
1 Samuel 17
1 Samuel 18
Luke 15:1-10
For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
How big is too big for God?
There are conceivably more details about Goliath’s physical appearance than any other biblical character, to show the behemoth’s invincibility. The man’s head almost reaches an NBA rim of ten feet. Not only is he tall as a modern skyscraper, but he is also strong. The coat of armor he dons weighs about 125 pounds. Even his iron spearhead, which is shaped like a flame, weighs fifteen pounds. The giant’s challenge becomes Saul’s worst nightmare because he and the nation walk by sight. They earlier wanted a visible king to lead them (1 Samuel 8:19-20). David marches to the beat of a different drum; he walks by faith. The shepherd tells Goliath, “I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45). Let’s choose David’s path of faith.
Employment Point: Trust the invisible Lord Almighty when visibly challenged.
———————-
Reflections
For we walk by faith not by sight. Peter walking on water is something that really speaks to me regarding where our focus should be. For David and Goliath it is all about the same thing. When people saw how big Goliath is, they forgot that they have a god that is greater than anything else.
The lesson here is not let whatever we see, undermines our Lord’s ability and power to do and change things. We cannot understand this world and wanted to conquer it with our worldly view. No.. that would not work. The Lord created this world and made us rulers over all living things. If we don’t know how to exercise this authority, we live like any other living thing that is in this world and of this world.
The Lord has already told us that we are not of this world. So it is a reminder not to chase after the things of this world, because we don’t belong here.
“Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.””1 Samuel 17:8-9 NIV
- The Philistine spoke out of arrogance, with the thought that none of the others who are all so small can defeat Him. Imagine us speaking to the kids and tell one of them to come attack us. We would be sooo confident that we will win because we are stronger and can therefore easily overpower them. That’s probably what the Philistine is thinking as well.
- Pride comes before a fall. We never know who we are exactly facing. Here he is not faced with a small boy but he is dealing with a spiritual giant. None of those men had faith like him.
“David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”1 Samuel 17:45 NIV
- We have a Lord who fights for us. The battle is His. David’s faith in the Lord is extraordinary as he solely relies on the Lord for deliverance from this enemy and giant. Nobody dares to take on this guy but his courage is really commendable. We also know that the Lord is with him. Who can overcome the Lord God Almighty?
“When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known. 1 Samuel 18:28-30 NIV
- this is a simple reminder of the verse. “If the Lord is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31. We can plan plans but the Lord accomplishes our steps and if it is the Lord’s will, nobody or anything can stop it.
““Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”Luke 15:4 NIV
““Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”
Luke 15:8 NIV
- All is not lost-in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and also the lost son. We are belong to God, and He is sad when we stray away from Him. His purpose is to bring His people back together again like the sheep in His field. The Lord is our shepherd, we lack nothing. May the angels in heaven rejoice continuously when all His sheep come together as one body.
———————-
Taking Down the High Places
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
April 15
Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. — 2 Chronicles 15:17
Beware of the thing you shrug at and say “Oh, that doesn’t matter very much.” The fact that is doesn’t matter to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Asa was mostly right with the Lord, but he was incomplete in his outward obedience. Although he loved God and was a good king in many respects, he didn’t rid Israel of the high places, the places where gods were worshipped.
Are there any “high places” in your life? Take an inventory. Look at the life of your body and the life of your mind. Is there something you should be concentrating on that you’ve let slid? Are there protesting that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something he has caused you to doubt? Whenever you begin to doubt that God would approve of what you are doing, quit it immediately. Nothing is a mere detail to a child of God. Nothing is a light matter. How long will you make God try to teach you the same lesson? God never loses patience; he will keep trying until you learn.
You no more need a holiday from spiritual concentration than your heart needs a holiday from beating. You can’t have a moral holiday and remain moral; you can’t have a spiritual holiday and remain spiritual. God wants you to be entirely his, and this means you have to keep yourself spiritually fit. It takes a tremendous amount of time to learn how to do this. Some of us expect to scale the mountain in two minutes flat.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
It is not what a man does that is of final importance, but what he is in what he does. The atmosphere produced by a man, much more than his activities, has the lasting influence.
————————-
Reflections
I happened to read a story of salt and light just few days ago and this vision of the guy sitting on a long flight of stairs to heaven together with Jesus popped up after reading this devotional.
What I think it meant was this. Our journey of faith is like a long flight of stairs.. and the ultimate goal is to reach the top. What spoke to me was that Jesus is always by our side. We don’t fight this battle alone and He climbs these steps with us. Holding us when we get weary, drained or even just sit there and rest. Each and every step of the way, He is there. With us and for us.
To be spiritually fit means we need to do our due diligence. We need to train and we cannot get complacent. The daily little trainings are important for it builds resilience, strength and also makes it a habit. Once we do this long enough, it will just feel strange if we don’t. We want to cultivate this lifestyle and this intentional seeking of the Lord. It is not about how much we are doing but how we are doing it. The Lord looks at our hearts.
If we find ourselves in a circuit, most likely we got caught in a lesson which we have yet to learn. The Lord is showing us from different perspectives how to be more like Him. It can be frustrating, irritating and even angry when we just find ourselves stuck but the Lord has never let go of us. He is guiding us, into a special space where we can surrender, quiet ourselves down and just sit with Him. He will eventually reveal what He wants us to know. Ask the Lord to show us so that we are aware and so that we learn.
Once when I asked the Lord to show me whatever He wants to let me know, He shown me how my mind was all cluttered with so many thoughts, there’s essentially no space for Him at all. Ge cleansed all those thoughts out and my mind remained silent for a long time like it was completely blank. A really weird, strange but equally amazing feeling.
Let’s pray:
Father Lord, You know our hearts and how we wished to have this close relationship with You. Remind us and search our hearts on the things that You want us to surrender to You so that we may truly live the risen life in You. Help us Father, to cast all our cares and anxieties to You, for You care for us. Thank You Lord. In Jesus’s name we ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻
Comments
Post a Comment