Saturday 16 Sep 2017

September 16: Genesis 49:22-25

Key Verse: Genesis 49:24
But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

Devotion:
When we look back at men and women from the old testament, we often think there were great people who stood out, who stood over and above all others. But each one of them who are listed as being in authority or power without God behind them, fell from grace and did not have the life we may have expected. But those who trusted in God and continually obeyed Him shone like stars. It is that sort of belief and trust we need in our God today.

Far too many distractions take us away from God and from His Word. We are surrounded by fiery darts. Just as Joseph had to face them, so do we have to face the temptations and distractions. Just like archers using a tree for target practice will leave marks on the tree, so do those distractions and temptations leave marks in our lives. No matter how much we try to put them behind us, they will always be there. What we need is protection from them in the beginning so they will not strike us where it hurts to start with!

God can give us that strength and protection, but in order to gain from it, we have to wear that protection. What if we have a suit of armour but did not put it on? What if we went into battle but left our bulletproof jacket at home because we thought it was a bit cumbersome? Leaving the protection at home is as good as not having any. Wearing it once a week as just as bad, especially when we wear it on a day where we do not face so many of those temptations!

If we want to be able to stand out like great men or women of the bible, then we have to be willing to show our strength comes not from within us, but from God Himself. We have to be willing to take Him with us wherever we go. We have to be willing to allow His light to shine through us so others will see we do have His protection!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you wear clothes to protect you from the elements?

Why should we not be wearing God's Word all the time?