August 21: Judges 2:11-19

Key Verse: Judges 2:19
But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshipping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

Devotion:
How many times did you get into trouble as a young person because you were left on your own? I know I did some pretty horrifying things when I was a young boy left to my own devices; things which my parents did not always find out about until many years later. But there lies the difference between our birth parents and our Father in Heaven! He gets to see everything you do all the time!

We really should look back on the history of the people of God in the bible and take some notes about how not to live! Even though God was the one who got them out of the slavery they were trapped in serving the people of Egypt, they would not always follow God. Much the same can be said about our own lives where we are directed by so many people to do what is right, but as soon as we think nobody is looking we run off and do strange things!

We see this pattern from the very beginning when God left Adam and Eve to their own devices; just a little temptation and they did strange things! We will continue to see this same pattern in the world because people are always going to be tempted to do what they desire instead of doing what is right.

God will always continue to put the right people in our lives to try and remind us of the righteous path we should be following. If we do not stop and listen to those people God puts in our lives, we may well see things go wrong. This does not mean we live a boring mundane life! God wants us to be happy and have fun – just within the bounds of righteousness where we can be safe with Him!

Points to Ponder:
How often do you get into trouble?

How often do you listen to God?