Luke 11:13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
You've probably heard of tennis champion Boris Becker, but you may not know this. He had everything, talent, money, fame and every other worldly pleasure one could want, yet he still struggled with depression and frequent thoughts of suicide. "I had won Wimbledon twice before," he said, "once as the youngest player. I was rich. I had all the material possessions I needed ... It's the old song of movie stars and pop stars who commit suicide. They have everything, and yet they are so unhappy. I had no inner peace. I was a puppet on a string."
When we're not fully submitted to the Lord, we are puppets on a string in the hands of the enemy. We will never be satisfied. We will never have peace. We will never be accomplishing the purposes for which we were divinely created.
D.L. Moody said, "I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled."
Let's get our game on for the Lord today. Let's give our heart to Him yet again today and purpose to empty it of our desires and allow God to fill it with His.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]As we continue our study of the men who followed David, let’s look at their boldness — the boldness of lions! We also need this boldness in the face of the enemy who is “like a lion”, himself….a roaring lion.
As we continue our study of the Mighty Men of David, another quality is worth pointing out — they were not procrastinators. Notice that these men decided to cross the Jordan river when it was at flood stage! They didn’t wait till the river receded, but rather, boldly crossed when it was the most dangerous!
As David grew in stature those who stood by him increased in number, devoting themselves to fight with him. Though it was a time of adversity for David, and a time of warfare, he found that there were many willing to join their lives to his; "...a brother is born for adversity"; and "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother". Again we note that David's anointing and his character made him a friend to many...and many became his loyal friends.
In the 1970s when the Alaskan Pipeline was being constructed many Texans went to Alaska to work on the pipeline alongside the Eskimos, native Alaskans. However the Texans could only work a few hours in the frigid weather, while the Eskimos could easily work for hours on end.
A program by National Geographic gives a powerful illustration for us. In the great annual wildebeest migration in Serengeti National Park in Africa a giant herd, thousands of wildebeest, slowly move in groups across the plain. They are invariably followed by stalking lions. But the lions never attack the herd – they simply watch carefully for the stray wildebeest, either careless or seeking greener grass, who separates himself from the larger groups of animals. The isolated wildebeest will become the sudden prey of the lions who attack with lightening speed and ferocity.
50,000 soldiers from the tribe of Zebulun served in David’s army with UNDIVIDED (some translations: “not double-hearted”) hearts. Can you imagine a skilled army with this level of loyalty and devotion?
The mighty men that followed David were of one mind and heart to make him King. Their recognition of David’s anointing may have been the most significant quality of these Mighty Men. What was it in David that drew out this deep loyalty? I believe it was God’s Holy Spirit which David received when Samuel anointed him king.[1 Samuel 16:13].