Well, I will be honest, this was not the most stimulating chapter I have ever read devotionally. Reading a list of defeated kings took awhile to find a place in my heart. It was more a list of words than thoughts or inspiration from the Lord. So I sat and thought and pondered, “Lord, what morsel from Your Word can I live on today?” Like popcorn popping, different thoughts burst alive in my thoughts:
· Our God is a God of details.
· It is helpful to record God’s victories in my life.
· Each name represents a different area of and strategy for victory.
· God is able to lead us through any challenge that comes our way.
· Just because the task seems insurmountable at the start following God will bring small victories along the way until the task is completed.
· No one is anonymous before God. He knows the name of everyone, those in His family and those not.
And so it went, God showing me a lesson here and a lesson there from this list of defeated kings.
It is so amazing to me how God brings His word alive, whenever I will simply sit with it and soak in it. Those last words took me back to our Rice and Beans week last November. The beans were “inedible little rocks” when I opened the bag but after the soaking/cooking process they provided much needed nourishment for the day. God’s word is best when I let it soak in my soul. When I let His precious words simmer in my life, the full richness and nourishment of the word comes out. Some chapters, like today, start out seemingly useless but as the Holy Spirit marinates it into my soul, God speaks.
Each of the bullet points I jotted down above were followed with more detail and application. I didn’t scribe all those thoughts for you. God may give you different bullets. Sit, ask God to speak, let it simmer…
God also gave me a gentle warning. I have to be careful that my morning devotions don’t become hurried and mechanical, ‘a checking off an item’ from my days’ to-do list rather than a cup of tea shared with my best friend and Lord and Savior…
How God applies His word to your life or where God takes you as you read over my shoulder and contemplate my bullet points (or your own if God raised other possibilities for you) is between God and you. May you have a wonderful ‘simmer in the kitchen’ of God’s word today.
Lord, I admit when I first glanced at Your word for today, I thought, “ugh, boring” I am thankful that You prompted me to linger and simmer. Oh, the flavors and textures of Your word and Your connection to my life. Wonderful!
Lord, Your word is alive. I re-learned that lesson for the ‘umpteenth’ time today. It is alive and active, sharper than a two-edged sword, able to separate bone and marrow, able to give apt instruction every time I sit with You and Your word. EVERY TIME.
O, Holy Spirit, thank You for Your scalpel-like precision; Your ability to take the word of the day and make it applicable to my life for the day. I bless and praise Your name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit this morning and with my life lived for You. Amen.
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