Dear Ones,
Hope you are having an enjoyable weekend. I am sending this out early as we are going home tomorrow. I am watching the sunset here on the lake and it is so beautiful. We have had a fun day as we had Taylor and Ethan for breakfast and time of sharing and prayer. Also, spent time playing scrabble, trying out the new sauna of Ann’s and swimming with relatives and time to finish a book.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How often do we take things into our own hands and do things our way, rather than seeking what God has for us. As I read of the life of King David and compare it to King Saul, there is a world of difference. Saul started out humble and dependent on God, but very soon, full of self-importance, he compromised and began doing things his way and it got him in trouble. David, on the other hand, trusted and was obedient to the Lord, and refused to do it his way but bowed to God’s way.

When David became king of both Israel and Judah, he needed to find a central site to rule from that would include both countries. He captured Jerusalem, which had belonged to the Jebusites, and it became the City of David. He destroyed the idols that were there, and it says in II Sam. 5:10, “David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with Him.” Change came to David as he matured spiritually, for instead of being hidden and marginal as he was hunted by Saul, he was now upfront and the very center of things. He was King and gave commands, but he didn’t let it go to his head. He remained humble and lived a life of obedience to the Lord and showed compassion to Saul’s crippled son, Mephibosheth, and gathered in the northern tribe, Israel to become one with Judah. David was 37 when he began ruling, after so many years of fleeing from Saul and being a fugitive.

Change comes into all of our lives, and do we flow into the next thing God has for us and go in His power, or do we take over in our own strength?  An employee who now becomes the boss, should humbly remember what his previous status was so he can be a one who rules with God’s love and wisdom. David began as a shepherd boy and ended up shepherding a nation. God used all of his previous experiences to make him into one who ruled with caring as a shepherd over the flock, not a power-hungry king. May we also remain open to the Lord and let the Holy Spirit direct us into whatever is next in our lives, as we remain humble and dependent on Him.

Challenge for today: Read the words of David from Psalm 23 in a different translation and let the Lord shepherd you.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy