David and Goliath

"David answered the Philistine, 'You have come against me with sword, spear and javelin, but I come against you with Yahweh, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied.'" - 1st Samuel 17:45

Every morning on my way to the train station I pray. When I park my car, I read today's bible readings from my blackberry and today's Old Testament reading came from the story of David and Goliath. Now, I've heard this story a million times, but when I read David's response to Goliath after he threatened to murder him, I was overcome with awe at the power of God. This little boy went up against a giant who carried a sword, a spear and a javelin, yet David, so bold in his faith, knew that all He needed was to have God by his side. He not only knew it, but he put his faith into action.

I have so many issues I make out to be Goliath's in my life and I let all the little weapons get to me too, but in this verse God is telling us that the size of the problem, or even the nature of the problem does not matter at all! God is above all things and He is the ONE and ONLY defense we need! With one little stone David knocked down the giant, meaning that when God is on our side, the outcome of any situation, as bad as it is, is in the Almighty's hands! Ask God to be on your side today!

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, I praise You because You are all powerful, all knowing, but most of all, You are good. Help me to keep the message You gave me today deep in my heart, that all things are of Your design and all things are in Your control. Thank You for being on my side! In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

Speak, Lord, Your Servant Listens

"The boy Samuel ministered to Yahweh under Eli's care in a time in which the word of Yahweh was rarely heard; visions were not seen. Samuel did not yet know Yahweh and the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed to him. But Yahweh called Samuel and, as he went again to Eli saying, 'I am here for you have called me,' Eli realized that it was Yahweh calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, 'Go, lie down, and if he calls you again, answer: Speak, Yahweh, your servant listens.'" - 1st Samuel 3:1,7-9

A young boy hears the call of God at a time when God's word was hardly heard and visions were not seen. Sounds a lot like today, right? Regardless of the fact that we might not have angels appearing to us, telling us the will of God for our lives, we do have a small, inner voice that tells us what we should do and what we shouldn't do. Or sometimes we get instincts about things, places, people. A lot of times these feelings are cloudy and we're not too sure about what to do. Probably like Samuel, we confused the message and go to others thinking the answer is somewhere else. Samuel knew he heard a voice calling him, but didn't know it was God. How do you know it's God if you've never heard Him speak before? Thankfully, Samuel had Eli who told him to try to listen to the voice of God, as I'm sure you have those who tell you the same. Upon his moment of confusion in regards to the call, Eli told Samuel to lie down still and just say, "Speak, God, your servant listens." And this is exactly what we should do. God puts a message in our hearts that we might not be too sure of, but if we just stay at peace and ask Him to speak, He will clarify everything for us. It might not be trumpets blasting but He will talk to you and tell you what He needs to say.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, after this busy day, help me to find Your peace. There is so much I need to hear from You and now, I want to find the time to listen. I'm not sure what my path is, but I know You guide me. See me here resting with You…speak Lord, your servant listens.