As a son of God, I must be unapologetic and unrelenting in my allegiance and priorities to the things of God. Not arrogant and stuck-up, but simply unwilling to allow a sinful world to establish my priorities, boundaries, and sources of joy.
=============================
Scripture
1 Chronicles 15:29
“And as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.”
Observation
The story of David and Michal is an interesting one. Michal was the youngest daughter of David’s predecessor, Saul. She had fallen in love with David during the time when Saul first began to view David as a threat (1 Sam. 18:20), and Saul used Michal as a pawn in his deadly game of trying to eliminate David. In this chapter, Saul is dead and gone and David is now firmly established as the king of Israel. Michal was his wife- but she is identified in this verse, not as the wife of David, but as the ‘daughter of Saul’. She had fallen in love with the young warrior David…but she despised the king who celebrated the return of the Ark of the Covenant. She had learned from her father Saul ‘how a king should act’: With dignity…with authority…with arrogance…with a certain measure of cruelty…with a heart of suspicion, alert for any threat to his power. This had become ‘normal’ to her, and she now despised David for not carrying the same character defects that her father had exemplified.
David stood up to her criticism and drew a firm boundary: She was free to criticize him, but his first allegiance was to Jehovah–not to the opinions of those around him.
Application
The things of God don’t make sense to a unregenerated heart. The things that cause celebration and joy in the heart of a follower of Christ, often bring derision and critique from those who do not know the savior. (1 Cor. 2:14)
As a son of God, I must be unapologetic and unrelenting in my allegiance and priorities to the things of God. Not arrogant and stuck-up, but simply unwilling to allow a sinful world to establish my priorities, boundaries, and sources of joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength…whether or not the world around me can understand. I find joy in serving God…whether or not society approves. I celebrate the things that bring glory to my Savior…whether or not it fits the social agenda of this generation.
This week, I need to pray for wisdom and courage. Wisdom, to clearly discern the things that bring glory to my Savior vs. glory to me–and courage, to never back down from living a life that honors my King.
Prayer
God, thank you for your joy which strengthens me! May I never allow the sinful world around me to set the priorities of my heart, or discourage me from celebrating your presence! May my life be so different than this world, that people could not help but realize that something about me is just a little ‘odd’, when viewed through natural eyes…and may that difference in my life point people unmistakably to you.
Interested in getting daily devotions delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe HERE!
You can also read past devotions on our website, by visiting https://www.newhopelegacy.com/soap/
