“To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless..” ( Psalm 18:25)
One of life’s sad ironies, is to find a person who begins so well in life, but has a disastrous end. From the Bible we can contrast the life of King Saul who starts out as a heroic figure, only to descent into devastating wars that ultimately lead him to suicide, along with his three sons ( I Chronicles 10:4-6).
On the contrary King David starts out heroically as the killer of Goliath ( 1 Samuel 17); then his life is on the run, but ultimately ends well, triumphantly passing on his kingdom to his son, Solomon, whom he instructs to build a temple of the Lord ( 1 Chronicles 22).
One might be interested to figure the difference between two kings. For Saul, his descent starts when he turns away from God, “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions” ( 1 Samuel 15). Eventually Saul turns to spirit mediums seeking answers for his situation (1 Samuel 28).
David was not perfect either. He, too, had moments of lapse, such as when he fell into the sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah ( 2 Samuel 11). Where David rises above the rest is his humility which we see in his acknowledging his sin and repentance ( Psalm 51). In a sense even at his lowest he never left God! But Saul was consumed with pride that blinded him from being dependent on God and in the end he abandoned God.
In life there are many episodes of those who have started out so well and met a tragic end as Saul. For many, like Saul, during their low moments, they left God and sought redemption elsewhere, all to their pitfull end. King David had his own portion of life’s low moments but he never lost his faith. The Lord ultimately honoured his unyielding trust in Him. He ended well!
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a loss to start life’s journey so well only to end tragically and so today I pray that I may never lose my absolute dependency on you, through the highs and lows of life, all this I pray in Jesus’ name!
Related upcoming events
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19/05/2024 - 20/05/2024 All day“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its part were many they form one body” (2 Cor 12:12)
In the body of Christ every believer has a gift that contributes to making the church whole. There are those who are gifted at intercessory prayers. Others have been called to a pulpit ministry. Then there are those gifted at leading worship and praises. Some others have the gift of care and empathy. The gifts in the church are indeed endless.
One way to know your gift is being able to reflect on what burdens you most. For example, if you have a great feeling for people who are going through tribulations and need comfort then most probably yours is a gift of empathy and care. There are those with a burden to share the truth and theirs is the gift of teaching the Word.
When God gives us gift he also enables us. For example, one who has been gifted with praising and worshipping by singing would naturally have a way with his tongue. That one gifted with preaching has the talent to move listeners with words. God gives us gifts to build the body of believers.Do you know your gift? If so, how are you using it for the building of the church of Christ?
Prayer for today: Lord Father in heaven, today I pray that you enable me use the gifts you have given me for the building of the church,
this I pray in Jesus’ name.
