Encouragement for Today - August 30, 2005
August 30
Encouragement for Today
“The Lord with Us”
Marybeth Whalen, Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member
Key Verse:
I Samuel 16:18, “One of the servants answered, ‘I have seen a son of Jesse of
Devotion:
In this account of King David’s life, we see a young shepherd boy who had been anointed by Samuel the prophet as the next King of Israel. Saul, the people’s choice for King, had lost the Spirit of the Lord due to his bad decisions. David was God’s choice to become King and he had the Spirit of the Lord with him as a result. Based on today’s verse, this truth was obvious to those he encountered.
As I studied this particular verse, I began to ponder what it means to have the Lord with you. I found that there were several times when someone in the Old Testament was described as having the Lord with him. Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon and Solomon are all described as having the Lord with them. In each instance, the Lord was with them as a means of protection, rescue or provision for a particular task. Before Pentecost, believers did not have the equipping of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. In fact, Beth Moore writes in her book, A Heart Like His, “Less than a hundred people in the Old Testament were characterized by the Holy Spirit being on or in them.” In the Old Testament, we can assume that having the Lord with you was the exception and not the norm.
The New Testament changed all that. With the birth of Jesus, no longer was having the Lord with us a rare occurrence. He became one of us and walked among us. Matthew 1:23 says, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and they will call Him Immanuel — which means, ‘God with us’.” Jesus made it possible for us to call on that protection, provision and rescue through His coming, His death, and His resurrection. Even though He returned to His Father in Heaven, He left us the Holy Spirit, and all the power that comes with His presence in our daily lives. John 16:13-14 says, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”
If you have professed Jesus as Lord of your life, then you, too, have God with you, just as King David did. This is part of the good news of the Gospel! We have the same power that the Old Testament heroes of the faith had. We have it available to us at all times!
There are some questions I want to ask you to ponder today as you go through your day:
1. In today’s verse (and several of the verses I have included at the end), people clearly notice when the Lord is with a person. What do you think it is about that person that stands out? Perhaps it is their countenance, their demeanor, their attitude or tone. Do people you encounter know that God is with you? Does your life reflect His presence and His Spirit at work in you?
2. I Samuel 10:6 says, “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power… and you will be changed into a different person.” If you have Christ in your life, then you have been changed into a different person. Does your life reflect that change? Do you look different from your unsaved friends, and the culture at large?
Live your life aware of God with you and the obvious effects of His transforming presence. Now celebrate the victories that will surely come from having God with you in your daily life!
My Prayer for Today:
Dear Jesus, Thank You for leaving the Holy Spirit here with us as our protection and provision. Thank you that we can have that power at work in our lives if we are only mindful of it and remember to draw from it. Please help me to be obviously different to everyone I encounter and to reflect You in my life so that people will know, “The Lord is with me.” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application Steps:
Take time today to concentrate on the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life. Ask God to help you to focus on that power and that special equipping He has given to all believers. If you do not know Christ as your Savior, but would like to have the Holy Spirit at work in your life as I have written about, please contact Proverbs 31 Ministries and someone will help you learn how to do so.
Reflection Points:
Who do I come in contact with each day?
Can they see that God is with me based on my attitude and actions?
Am I living a life that reflects God’s presence? Do I seem victorious or defeated?
Power Verses:
Genesis 39:2, “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” (NIV)
Joshua 1:5, “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (NIV)
Judges 6:12, “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you mighty warrior’.” (NIV)
I Samuel 17:37, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. Saul said to David, ‘Go and the Lord be with you’.” (NIV)
I Chronicles 22:11, “Now, my son, the Lord be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the Lord your God, as He said you would.” (NIV)
Additional Resources:
Do You Know Him?
http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/knowHim.htm
Radically Obedient, Radically Blessed, by Lysa TerKeurst
http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/newresources_radicallyObedient.htm
Intimate Moments with God, with Sharon Jaynes, contributor
http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/newresources_intimateMoments.htm
