January 12, 2023

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 5-8
Meditation Verses: 6:19-20

Thought

How sad that when the Lord strikes the people for doing something they weren't supposed to do, their first response is to send Him away. They recognized that the Lord was a holy God, but instead of determining to honor and obey Him, they thought it would be better for them to have Him somewhere else, at a distance from them. Because they didn't want to reform their lives, though all they did was look into the ark! Why didn't they just decide not to look into the ark again? Things probably would have been fine for them. I'm fact, where the ark stayed, those people enjoyed the Lord's blessing! So they gave up blessing because they were afraid God would require some changes in their lives, the only one for sure being not to look into the ark.

Application

So if I do something the Lord doesn't like, and He makes that clear to me, I just need to repent and stop doing it. But really, I need to have a willingness to correct any behavior the Lord doesn't like. That's the more scary truth. Am I willing to change anything the Lord makes clear He doesn't like? Yes, He is a holy God. Who can stand before Him? Anyone who is willing to correct their behavior to please the Lord! Will He ask too much of me? Didn't He give me everything I have and am? Can He actually ask too much of me? Doesn't He deserve everything? Or do I secretly think He is too mean and demanding and doesn't really care about me? Lord, help me love You more than anything and trust You with everything.