Daily Reading: 1 Samuel 10
Scripture Focus: The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” (1 Samuel 10.2)
Devotional Thought: Kish had sent Saul to find some lost donkeys. There was a lot at stake in Saul’s search. But, as time wore on and Saul didn't return, Kish came to worry about more than his lost donkeys. He started worrying about his lost son!
How do we set our priorities?
When crises come, many things that we felt were important, cease to hold sway over us. The time to set our priorities isn’t when the donkeys are missing. It’s when the donkeys are found! So many times we will make promises to God in the storm, only to forget those promises when fair weather arrives. That pattern must be broken if we are to have spiritual victory and strength. The fact of the matter, is that we need to make even more effort to serve God in prosperity than we do in adversity!
Something else I noticed in this story, is that financial profits do not define the worth of a person. When Saul was delayed in coming home, Kish discovered that the donkeys were not nearly as important to him as he thought. His son was much more important! We all know how Kish felt. We tend to neglect our loved ones until we think we are at risk of losing them. Too many decisions are based on “the bottom line”, rather than on the importance of family and dignity and love. What is a life worth? Is one life worth more than another? Jesus Christ died to save all people, not just the successful, the talented, the attractive, and the wealthy. God sees all life as valuable. Do we?
Prayer: Lord, I don't want to wait until the next crisis, the next storm, to make you my priority. I crown you as Lord of my life now, and I surrender my will to yours. Amen.
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 78.9-16
9 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God's covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
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