PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 2): Father, I must admit that the middle part of this verse convicted me a bit. Here, Deborah says “when the people volunteer, praise the Lord.” Ever since I’ve been back in the area and retired from the military, I’ve helped around my home church here-and-there, but I have not been volunteering like I used to. I’m a leader in a men’s ministry outside of my church, I help out with cleanup and kid’s activities when available in the church, but I have not gotten back into the technology ministry like I used to be when we were stationed out here a few years ago. I don’t know if I’m meant to volunteer for that or something else, but I do feel convicted in the moment because I have not focused my prayers on how You want me to participate in my home church. Please forgive me for this, Father. Help me to be better at looking for Your path for me so that I may follow the instructions You are trying to give to me.
PROMISE (verse 31): I find a comforting promise in this verse. Deborah’s last line to her song says, “may those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its strength.” The more I love You, the stronger not only my faith becomes, but also the stronger I become as a man in this crazy world. The more I lean on You, the more I learn from You, the more I follow Your instructions, the better I become as a man, as a follower of You, as a father, as a husband, as a friend, as a mentor, etc. Thank You for this amazing promise, Father, but also thank You for showing me proof of this promise throughout my faith journey.
ATTITUDE (verse 31): Love has always been a difficult attitude for me to truly embrace. I never truly felt loved as a child because my dad left us at a young age, my mom had to work a ridiculous number of hours just to pay the bills, my brother was locked up in juvenile detention and jail for pretty much his entire teenage life, and my sister was heavily abusive to me both verbally and physically. I feel Your love and Your presence all the time since coming to faith, but I still find it difficult to truly express, feel, and share my love towards You, my wife, my children, my friends, etc. I show kindness, joy, comfort, etc., but for some reason the attitude of love is so very lost on me most of the time. Please help me to know what it means to embrace the attitude of love, Father, but also to know what it means to show others, including You, that I truly do love them.
COMMAND (verse 8): Since Israel chose new gods in this moment, they were not truly protected by You any longer. The reason I chose this as my focus for command in my journal is because I do see a command here—do not lean on anything in this life except for You. Putting anything above You in this life is placing that/them as a god in Your life and this is not what You want for me. I know I’ve done this many times throughout my life, but I also know that I am getting better at placing You first in all things. I do still require help with following this command though, Father. As You are well aware, I often make decisions from the hip instead of going to You first; even important ones. This way of making decisions is not a representation of me putting You above all else and I know I need to change. Please help me to be better at going to You for my decisions, Father. Help me to always lean on You for understanding and discernment in my life, so that I may glorify and honor You throughout all of my decisions instead of just the ones I “feel like” going to You for in the moment.
EXAMPLE (verses, 2-3, 8, 31): The way Deborah starts her song and ends it with the way she sings about Israel worshipping other gods in the middle is an amazing example of praise and worship. She shows her true love for You by shouting her song and praise loudly for even the rulers to hear. The same rulers who are likely leading their people to these false gods, unfortunately. She then finishes off with a request to You to have Your enemies parish like Sisera, but to all those who love You to grow in strength like the rising sun! Such an amazing example of praise and worship from Deborah, while also reminding people of Your great strength and that You are the only God in this world and all others are false idols that we need to be cautious about.
*DAILY NOTE: Today’s scripture was a lengthy yet simple song by Deborah, based on the title of the chapter in the HCSB version of the Bible. The song was a beautiful reminder that no matter what is going on around me, I can still praise and worship You fully without feeling the need to hide my faith. The song is a reminder that no matter anyone’s position or authority over me, I should always feel free to sing loudly about my amazing God in Heaven who loves me endlessly and more than anyone in this life could even imagine. Thank You for such an amazing quiet time today, Father. Thank You for showing me this great song from Deborah and her devotion, commitment, and obedience to You through a very troubling time amongst Your people, the Israelites.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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