EXPAND TO READ: DEUTERONOMY 17 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 4): I will admit that I sometimes cast my judgment on others or on situations far too quickly than I should. In this verse, You tell us that we must “investigate thoroughly” yet oftentimes I take what is on the surface as all I need to know to make my judgment call on the person or topic. Please forgive me for being too quick to judge, Father. Forgive me for being too quick to dig my heels in to my opinion on a matter. Help me to be better at gathering more information BEFORE making a judgment call. Help me to be better at leaning on You and the Godly men You have put in my life for perspective before making a judgment call.
PROMISE (verse 13): You promise us here that if we judge righteously, using the Godly wisdom of those around us if needed, that those around us will hear about it, be afraid, and no longer behave arrogantly. Seeing all of the hatred in people’s faces during these various protests, news broadcasts, and such definitely hurts my heart. When they are deaf to hear a calm word being spoken from others due to their rage, how does one dig into this promise of judging righteously with the hope in fulfillment of the promise of them no longer acting in that arrogant manner? Are some people just too far gone into their flesh to be brought back into Your light, Father? When some people get blinded and deafened by their anger and lack of control in their emotions, is there nothing that I can say or do to help them get through it so that a peaceful and calm conversation can be had to reveal Your truth on the matter? Help me with this, Father, because I do struggle with this especially in the moments which are quite heated.
ATTITUDE (verses 16-20): I know I am not a King, Father, nor will I likely ever be an equivalent type of leader in my country as the whole political side of things is a struggle of mine and all of our leaders nowadays have to be strong on politics and speaking with political correctness and such. I do, however, see the qualities here You expect of a King and that is where I want my attitude adjustment to occur. You want Your people to appoint a king from their own brothers who must live a humble life, must not take on too many possessions, must keep his heart from going astray by not taking on multiple wives, must not acquire too much wealth, and so on. These qualities, especially that of humility, are ones which I want to ensure I am maintaining in my life. You finish these verses by saying “then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen.” Oftentimes, when put in a leadership position, people are prone to take that authority for granted and forget where they came from prior to be appointed to that position; they forget who appointed them to that position and why. Help me to never be a leader like that, Father. Help me to be a leader whose heart will never be exalted above my countrymen, my brothers, my sisters, all those around me and even those I have never met. Help me to live in an attitude of humility no matter the positional authority I have so I can lead in the way You have called me to lead, Father.
COMMAND (verses 8-9): This command is a very straightforward command which I have struggled with quite often. You preface it with the discussion of judging others for their transgressions and being thorough with a detailed investigation to ensure we have all the details necessary to make an appropriate judgment call. Then You tell us that if we feel overwhelmed or if the situation is too difficult for us to handle/interpret, then we are to call on the assistance of Godly counsel. This is the part that I often struggle with, Father. Help me to be better at recognizing when I should seek Godly counsel, but also taking the action steps needed to do so by following through with it. Help me to know who to go to in these situations as well, Father, so that I may receive the correct Godly wisdom and counsel that You want me to receive in those particular moments.
EXAMPLE (verses 14-20): I really love the example You gave to Your people back then of not only the need for them to appoint a King overtop of them, but also the “requirements” of said King. You told them that the King should be appointed from within their own brothers, not from the outside. This is to ensure that the King appointed over them is a God-focused ruler of their own kind, instead of one who may look to other gods or try to lead them in a secular manner. You tell them that there are certain qualities and actions the King must ensure he keeps as his own personal instructions for himself on a scroll, so that he never departs from those ways. Almost all of these qualities are tied directly to his heart. As You stated, this is so that his heart is never to be exalted over his own countrymen. Help me to continue to work on my heart, Father, so that as I mature in my faith and go through this journey of recovery and restoration with You, the wounds and scars in my heart will be healed and my heart will become softened. Help me to walk in Your ways of restoration and recovery so that as my heart is healed and softened, it will be filled with all that You are and all that You want to fill it with, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: This was an interesting quite time with convictions on my heart in many ways. Judgment, leadership, seeking Godly counsel, alignment of the heart with You are all topics I have struggled with quite a bit throughout my life. You are always faithful and always know exactly what the things are that I need to work on. Thank You for today’s conversation, Father. Thank You for speaking to me in ways I never thought possible early on in my faith. Thank You for all of the growth and maturity in my faith and in life in general which is only made possible through You. I was blessed yesterday with an outcome I didn’t expect and all glory and praise go to You for that, because that was NOT me who managed to get through that situation the way I did. It was all You and the great works You have been doing in my heart over the last year, Father. Thank You so much for showing me a better way of living this life, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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