Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 51
Passage of the Day: 2nd Samuel 1: 12 - [NLT] …
12 They [David and his men] mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day.
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: 2nd Samuel, Chapter 1 [especially Verses 1-12] [NLT] … Go to this link …
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Reference Passage #1: Genesis, Chapter 41 : [NLT] … Use this link ...
Reference Passage #2: Matthew 5: 43-44 : [NLT] …
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
My Journal for Today: When we are persecuted or prosecuted by others, especially for things which are not our own doing or fault, what is our normal – very human – tendency? It’s to seek revenge, isn’t it? How many times do we see people on TV after a loved one has been murdered senselessly, when asked what they seek, they often say they “seek justice” … by having the killer put to death. So, are they seeking “justice?” No, … they’re seeking revenge, aren’t they?
Today, Os Hillman, led me to a great Bible story of someone who was able to see past his own selfish feelings and see life God’s way rather than his own. 2nd Samuel 1: 1-12, which you can be read today by using the link above, tells the story of David learning of Saul’s death; and as you can read, David’s reaction was not what the normal human reaction would have been. Saul, by pursuing David for years to kill him, had become David’s enemy; and in 2nd Samuel 1, David learns that Saul has died. But, … did he react in joy with feelings of release that his enemy was no longer there to pursue him? … No, … David wept, in genuine remorse, grieving that God’s anointed King had been slain (no matter how it happened).
This is an example of being able to see life God’s way rather than our own. Another story of how we can CHOOSE to set aside our personal feelings and see life God’s way can be found in how Joseph responded after he had been unjustly put in prison for two years by the false accusations of Potipher’s wife. In Chapter 41 of Genesis we read of Joseph seeking God’s perspective immediately upon release from prison and desiring to do God’s bidding rather than begrudgingly looking at life in the light of the “lost” two years of imprisonment. Joseph sought to see life God’s way; and God rewarded that perspective by giving Joseph the grace to lead Egypt into years of fruitfulness, which preceded the years of famine, from which Egypt was able to escape because Pharaoh followed Joseph’s Godly perspective rather than the normal human, selfish way of looking at life.
And then, of course, in my second reference passage of the day, (i.e., Matthew 5: 43-44, copied above) we read of Jesus’ perspective in this matter, as our Lord preached from that hillside near Capernaum in His “Sermon on the Mount,” about seeing life God’s way rather than from our own selfish perspective. Jesus preached that we should CHOOSE to see our enemies as lost … and pray for their deliverance and salvation, … rather than seeking revenge for them as we might normally do.
Where are we in our lives today that we might seek to see life – and others – Gods’ way, rather than sink into trying to see others through our own, selfish, eyes? Personally, I need to take this lesson to heart and pray for God to open my eyes to see more of life HIS way, rather than through my own eyes.
And to help you see life God’s way today, USE THIS LINK and go see/hear this You Tube segment of Kathy Troccoli singing her song, I Will Choose Christ …
My Prayer for Today … Help me, Lord, even today, to see things YOUR way rather than my through my own, selfish, eyes. … Amen
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