Discover His heart: He welcomes us with outstretched arms when we seek Him first above all others
Aspirin is a good thing. That little tablet of salicylic acid will take away a headache and soothe back pain; but, of course, it will also burn a hole right through a stomach if taken in excess. I’m thankful for doctors and medicines, and God uses them so very often to bring healing, but when they are what I run to first when I experience sickness or pain, it’s not a good thing. At the very mention of His name, I have an instant appointment with the Great Physician, something unheard of with any primary care physician to be sure. The Great Physician knows my diagnosis even before I call Him and has the perfect solution to each and every problem with no troublesome side effects. So I’m wondering, why would I not call on Him first?
@ I Chronicles 10
“So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He failed to obey the Lord’s command, and he even consulted a medium instead of asking the Lord for guidance. So the Lord killed him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.” (13-14) Help! Mercy, mercy, mercy – I’m so thankful for His mercy today through Jesus. But because I want to bless Him and bring pleasure to Him, I take to heart the valuable lesson I can learn from the life of Saul.
King Saul lived by the motto, “When all else fails, pray!” Obviously, God did not like it. This wasn’t a one-time problem with Saul. We learn through Scripture that it was a pattern he followed throughout most of his reign. Occasionally, Saul would call on God to help him as in I Samuel 28, but it was always after he had tried doing things his own way. It’s difficult to understand why an anointed King of Israel would seek out a witch for direction in his life with all of Heaven at his disposal, an army of angels at the very least. This thought causes me to question who it is that I run to for help in all of life’s challenges. Is God always my first response?
A while back I was looking for a very important document that I desperately needed. I searched for one hour and nine minutes in all the places I thought it would be. Of course, I realize this doesn’t speak well about my filing/secretarial skills. Finally, at the end of my rope, I cried out, “God, please help me.” And He did. No, I didn’t find the document, which I’m certain is resting in some landfill in the area, but He instantly reminded me of where I could find a duplicate. Problem solved!
“So there at Hebron, David made a covenant before the Lord with all the elders of Israel. And they anointed him king of Israel, just as the Lord had promised through Samuel… And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was with him.” (11:3,9) I don’t want to be like Saul who asked for God’s help when all else had failed. I want to be like David who made a covenant (Deuteronomy 17:18-20) to follow the Lord in obedience and who sought the Lord at most every turn as we have read throughout Psalms.
Moving Forward: My motto today is “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) May He be my first stop in every challenge I face today.
Tomorrow @ Psalm 99-101
Phyllis Benigas 