ICS Daily Devotions
Arise and Be Different
Psalm 37:16,19,23-24 (NKJV) A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked….They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied….The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
We need to know that there will be setbacks when we are walking out the will of God. Nevertheless, it is better to be walking in the will of the Lord and have less money than to envy the riches of the wicked. Regardless of what you are going through, a little setback doesn’t mean that you won’t have a strong comeback with the Lord! A trailblazer who is guided and led by the Lord will be delivered by Him.
King David had to flee and readjust his life and strategy when his son Absalom committed treason against him. However, he seemed to have been less concerned about himself than he was about Absalom’s wellbeing and safety. Although at one point David’s deep attachment to his treasonous son brought confusion to his army, he was able to recompose himself and instructed his army commander Joab to lead his soldiers to recapture their lost positions and to a swift victory. The fact that King David didn’t let his emotions get the better of him was key to his ability to continue ruling and reigning over Israel despite the temporary setback.
The Bible says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10), and this can be true not only in the lives of unbelievers, but also in the lives of believers. Do not allow money or the love for it to rule over you. Some of you may have been manipulated in the workplace by your superiors, suffered financial losses or even lost your positions in your companies. However, learn not to fret, or try to “snap out of it”, because the Lord has better plans for you. Our spiritual leadership and example as heads of households or leaders in the workplace can be more significant than we realize. Trailblazers manage their emotions well and have clear strategies regarding what to do next.
The wonderful and comforting truth is that there is always grace and rest in God’s presence when He initiates something in our lives. He allows us to be the trailblazer but He gets all the glory. We need to constantly depend on God because the work that He gives us will become greater over time and more wisdom will be required. And because we are led by a supernatural God, we need to have a balanced walk; we should expect to consistently receive guidance from the Word and also be able to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit and to exercise His gifts.
We do not become trailblazers overnight, it’s a process of gradual transformation, as we allow the Lord access to our lives. The first step is often dying to self, as we will not be able to experience God in our daily living if we are too full of ourselves. We also need to stop fretting over evildoers and having to prove ourselves to the world. God uses the weak to shame the strong and even the broken for His grand purposes, so that He alone gets the glory when something great comes out of the ashes. Reminding ourselves of this truth will help keep us humble and enable us to continue depending on Him for as long as we live.
Sermon Series: Trailblazer
