PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( 2 Samuel 2:26-28 ): Wow! The statements made here are convicting my heart, Father. What I see here is men getting caught up in the moment not truly realizing what they are doing until one speaks up. Brothers fighting against brothers and struggling to end the fight because they are caught up in it. I do this far too often, Father. I get caught up in the moment and oftentimes do not realize what I am doing or saying until after the fact. Looking back on those moments, I know I was wrong for allowing myself to get so caught up in the moment that I lost all perspective and lost sight of You, Father. Please forgive me for this. Help me to listen to the Spirit when it is saying to me what Abner said to Joab in these verses. Help me to listen to the Spirit when it's telling me to slow down and pay attention to what I am doing or saying in that moment. Help me to listen to the Spirit when it’s revealing to me what really matters in that moment isn’t what I’m pursuing at the time, Father. Help me to listen.
PROMISE ( 2 Samuel 2:4, 11 ): Slowly but surely, David’s journey that You have him on towards becoming king of Israel is coming to fruition. Here, he hasn’t become king of Israel quite yet, but the people of Judah have anointed him as king over them. This is one of the many villages of Israel, so his journey is making headway. I am thinking that maybe You do not feel he is quite ready to become king over ALL of Israel, yet, so You gave him this small piece for some training. Your promise is still being fulfilled, but in little bits along the way as the journey needs to occur for training, growth, experience, and maturity before true fulfillment occurs. I needed this reminder this morning, Father, so thank You for this. Regardless of the promises made to me, I must remember that the journey to the fulfillment of the promise is just as important, if not more important, than the fulfillment of the promise itself. The journeys You’ve had me on have been crucial to my spiritual growth and maturity and I’m so grateful for this. Thank You, Father!
ATTITUDE ( 2 Samuel 2:26 ): I really need to be better at truly living in and embracing my spiritual maturity even in the “heat of the battle” just as Abner did in this verse. It’s quite easy to become blinded by the events that are ongoing and not speaking up when needed. Abner spoke up about the wrong that was occurring and as a result everyone realized the wrong that was occurring and stepped back from it. Had he not been brave enough to speak up in that moment, then far more brothers of Israel would have likely died on that day. Instead, so many men get to walk away with their lives and continue on with the journey You have set them on, Father. Please continue to help me hone my spiritual maturity, Father. Continue to help me embrace my true identity in Christ, even in those moments where my old self wants to take over and control things or dominate things. Help me to push aside my old prideful, bitter, and oftentimes angry old self so that You are shone through me in all situations, Father.
COMMAND ( 2 Samuel 2:26 ): This is such a powerful verse for me today. I not only hear You speaking to me through Abner’s words, but it almost feels like You are yelling at me about this today, Father. The command I see here is that I must always be so focused on You and not the moment, that I do not ever fear speaking up for what’s right in Your eyes. I must be so in tune with the identity in Christ that You have blessed me with, that no matter how much chaos is occurring around me I will always speak up to squash any tension, arguing, or fighting that is unjust in Your eyes, Father. Help me to be better at following Your will in these moments, Father. I do not want to dip back into my old self any longer as nothing good comes from the blinded and rage-filled anger that ensues when I do that in heated moments and confrontations. Continue to hone and teach me what it truly means to be a true Godly man living as Christ lived.
EXAMPLE ( 2 Samuel 2:1 ): Right off the bat, David continues to give such a great example for living my life. What does he do before taking any actions or making any decisions? He goes to You in prayer and seeks Your counsel. He doesn’t make a brash decision on his own without consulting You; at least not yet. I know I am not the best at this, Father. I’ve gotten better, but I still am not doing the best I can at truly calling out to You all the time for decisions. I still am not doing the best I can at truly aligning my heart and mind with You so that the actions I do and decisions I make in this life are ones that You are always proud of. Just like my “No More Excuses” group learned last night, I need to remember to be “all in” for You. I need to remember that the sacrifice I make towards living for You should be permanent and I should not do a partial sacrifice where I am delving back-and-forth between my new identity in Christ and my old identity in this very broken world. Thank You for David’s example here, Father. This is something I need to do more often to ensure I am always falling forward towards the Cross, but also that I am always keeping my actions and decisions focused on You the best I can.
*DAILY NOTE: This was such a powerful quiet time for me this morning, Father. It’s been a bit since I’ve written more than a page on a single day in my quiet time journal. Maybe I’m finally getting back into the flow of things in figuring out my schedule and such. Maybe I just needed some extra time to allow the dust settle from my military retirement. Maybe I just needed to finally get my head out of my butt and do what You’ve been telling me to do for so long. I know, it’s that last one, right? Whatever it is, Father, I’m glad that throughout all of my failures, stall outs, and mistakes that I am now becoming far better at falling forward towards the Cross instead of always falling backwards towards my old self. I do still dip back to old Fil every so often, but the frequency is become far less often. Progress is progress and I must continue to focus on the positive moves and changes, not the mistakes, failures, and stall outs that occur. Thank You for such an amazing quiet time today, Father. I look forward to continuing in this journey that You have David on and all the wisdom, revelation, and convictions I will continue to experience that come along with his journey.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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