June 5: 1 Samuel 8:4-20
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 8:19
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. ‘No!’ they said. ‘We want a king over us.
Devotion:
One of the things we do as humans is look for other humans we can hold up as our leaders – we elevate them into positions where they hold far too much power over us and yet we don’t see it as such! When Samuel was getting old and the people saw none of his family were ready to take on the mantle of being the prophet to lead them, they turned to human ways and wanted someone they could think of as powerful to look after them and lead them.
What they were not thinking of was how God had been the one who was always there for them and always looked after them – albeit through the prophets because they would not listen directly to God!
The more we are surrounded by worldly issues, the more we look for someone who is willing to tell us what to do to get us out of the problems! If we were to set aside our physicals wants and look to God for our answers, we would be in a much better ways than we are now. The power and position of authorities gets to people’s heads and pride and greed take over their ways!
God wants us to not get too hung up with earthly way6s and power, but to look to Him in all ways for guidance and strength. He continues to offer us the guidance, but we keep on turning to mans ways to get us out of the problems when we should be looking for Gods ways! As the Israelites looked deeper at the issues which lay ahead, all they could do was to think of an earthly way forward... just like us!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you turn to for guidance when things go wrong?
Will you try to listen to God this time?
June 4: Luke 9:12-17
Key Verse: Luke 9:17
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Devotion:
Sometimes in life we tend to rely a bit too much on what we think is probable rather than what God has promised. We water down God’s Word because we think it is a bit too difficult or hard to believe in the miracles. God is not limited by what we think is possible, probably or even by what we think is improbable!
Just like the disciples, when we see a problem approaching, we think of all the things which can go wrong and we expect them to start happening. Because we are looking for the problems and issues, we overlook what could be solutions to the problems and we get caught up in a mess – just as we expected!
When the disciples could see nothing but a big problem approaching, God told them to face the problem with a miracle. God is not going to leave us in the lurch if we are willing to listen to Him and obey Him. When the disciples started to listen and obey, they saw a solution to the problem which required God to do something extraordinary. They had to step up and allow God to do something extraordinary! They had to put all their faith and trust in God and allow Him to work out the problem.
If we are willing to do this for God, He is willing to do extraordinary things for us to allow us to face problems which seem insurmountable when we see them through our earthly eyes. Only seeing things through God eyes can help us to solve things His way. God wants to help us. God wants to show us He is capable of anything when we trust Him.
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to work past big issues in your life?
Have you tried giving them to God?
June 3: Isaiah 54:7-10
Key Verse: Isaiah 54:10
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Devotion:
If you ever find yourself doubting God’s love, mercy or compassion, then I challenge you to read this chapter from the book of Isaiah. God acknowledges He has turned His back on the Israelites, but now He is setting a new promise in stone for them to rely on. Just as He made the promise the earth would never again be covered in water at the time of Noah, so too is God making a promise – this time to never again turn His back on His people!
I love the way He describes that time as a brief moment – because, when compared to how long God has watched over us or how long he will watch over us, the years when the Israelites were in captivity were but a moment! Now, for us as humans, we don’t regard those years as a brief moment because we tend to measure everything in comparison to our earthly lives; but God is comparing this to the time He has watched over us... which is so much more!
But, like the moment He turned back to bring the people together under His mercy, so He is turning toward us and saying we no longer have to fear being alone any more. This is the turning point after which His promise will stand forever!
But we do have warnings which remain – there will be tough time ahead, time when the mountains will shake, times when complete hills will be removed; but His love is going to continue and His promise will stand no matter what! His covenant is an everlasting covenant which will never be shaken, never mind being broken! God is faithful and will uphold His promises!
Points to Ponder:
How long is too long when you feel rejected?
How long have you ever turned away from God?
June 2: Isaiah 24:1-3
Key Verse: Isaiah 24:3
The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word.
Devotion:
When we read verses like this we may well get very worried God is going to decimate the world and leave us all homeless and starving in a desolate land! We need to take verses like this in context and to understand what it is God is talking about. The more we study places like this in the Old Testament the more we will understand how many warnings God has given mankind about building up treasures on earth!
No matter how many times we read how we should not build up our treasures on earth, we still do and we still look at earthly wealth as being something tangible. Society keeps track on the most wealthy people and even judges people by their lack of wisdom in building up earthly wealth or treasures. We have people who make a living out of teaching people to build up treasures... yet God has been trying to warn us time and time again...
So does this mean we should give everything up and live in a tent? No, God does not teach us to do nothing. God wants us to be able to love and support people around us, which means sharing in many things instead of hording them for ourselves. When God was leading the Israelites through the desert, He instructed them to gather the right amount of manna for themselves and their family – any hording would be met with rotting food and hence a lack of food in the end!
We also need to understand this is something which will affect all people, no matter what standing in society, how far up or down the wealth ladder people are and no matter where they live. The more we horde, the more we will see the breaking down of everything we have. Not gathering enough, or spending too much will leave us short... It is a balance of making sure we listen to God whilst living in the world!
Points to Ponder:
How wealthy do you think you are?
Measuring your wealth only in spiritual terms – how wealthy are you?