Saturday 20 Dec 2014

December 20: 2 Samuel 15:19-23

Key Verse: 2 Samuel 15:21
But Ittai answered the king and said, “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.”

Devotion:
How willing are you to give up your position to be a servant to another person? Are you willing to go all the way with them, supporting and being with them no matter what they come up against? Are you willing to put your life on the line just so you can support that person? If we were living in the time of David as a servant then we would be given a choice just as his other servants were given, whether to lay aside their own well-being and take up a position with David who was being persecuted, or to give allegiance to the one who was coming along to take over…

Have you thought about your position with Christ in this same light? Are you willing to give up your own well-being to stay firm to God’s Word? Are you willing to have your own people look down on you because you dare to stand up for Jesus? It is not always going to be an easy journey because many people do not understand what it is to follow Christ. It is not just a case of telling others you follow Christ and then going and joining in with all their fun as normal… it is standing up for what God wants you to do and making sure you stick with it.

Our countries may say that we are Christian. Our communities may say they are Christian. But when they start persecuting you for following Christ’s ways, then they are not Christians at all. Don’t panic and think that God is going to reject you because you think you are not strong enough to stand up for Him… God knows what is in our hearts and He knows what we will get up to. He allowed Christ to come to be with us just the same…

That means that God’s love for us goes far beyond the lack of faith or lack of courage we may think we have. God’s love went before us and set the standard. Our lot is to believe this is God’s will and to act upon it in a manner we can stand up for. God is not going to ask more of us than we can handle.

Points to Ponder:
Do you feel strong?

Will you allow Christ’s strength to support you?