Corona Devo 800

Put in the work.  

God is Almighty.  

God is sovereign.

God is loving.

And God has a plan for each and every one of us to be received by Him and then to be in service for Him.  

And then when it comes down to it, we have to be willing to put in the work, or (in a word) to suffer in serving Him.   

(1) Lord, remember David and all that he suffered.  ~Psalm 132:1

David lived large for the Lord, and that included bearing suffering (challenges/set- backs/isolation/burdens) in His service.  Are we suffering?  Are we working for the Lord?  Are we persevering, trying, maintaining...are we shining for the Lord, even as we do-the-work and suffer for the Lord?

David suffered (and persevered into victory) under Saul and in life. 

Do we have people/predecessors in business/family/home/social circles/church that we suffer under?   Remember David and all that he suffered (Psalm 132:1) and be strengthened today.

David was also willing to fight a giant (and he won in the Lord's strength). 

Many just walk away, uninterested or unmotivated to stand and fight (figuratively speaking) for the Lord and what His Word teaches.  Today, remember David and all that he suffered (Psalm 132:1), and be strengthened and willing to fight your giants.

 

(2) He made a solemn promise to the Lord.  He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel, (3) “I will not go home; I will not let myself rest.

(4) I will not let my eyes sleep nor close my eyelids in slumber until I find a place to build a house for the Lord, a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.”  ~Psalm 132:2

David made a solemn promise/vowed/swore unto the Lord…that he wouldn’t go home/let himself rest/ or let his eyes sleep…

Until he had done the work that he felt the Lord had laid before him.  Until he had suffered to serve.  Until he had put-in-the-work that he felt the Lord was requiring of him. 

What house for the Lord are we building today?

It’s a tall order. 

It’s strong Scripture. 

And David’s a great example of a life living it out. 

We have our own examples too.  Each of us are striving to know the Lord more intimately and to step out and serve Him accordingly.  There will be suffering in the offering, and that is a good and Godly thing.

When one of my friends has a big church assignment/teaching/Bible study lesson due, it has become routine that near-the-deadline, she will wake up around midnight (God wakes her up!) and the topic and material will flow from her mind to fingers to keyboard, and she does-the-work of “suffering” during the wee hours of night.  The results are always beautiful and all for Him and His glory, but with a family, husband and homeschooling, the “night-writes” are a sacrifice, but just like David, she will not let myself rest.  I will not let my eyes sleep nor close my eyelids in slumber until I find a place to build a house for the Lord… (Psalm 132:34-4).

~~~

Unfortunately, sometimes we have practices far-away and late on school nights.  They happen infrequently enough to allow, but as a mom I know (and lament) that it is not an ideal situation.  Last week as I tucked in our sleepy son after one such night, he was already almost in la-la land as I prayed for him.  But in his twilight between physical exhaustion/REM/and pre-dawn alarm, he murmured for me to “wake him up early because he needed to study the Bible lesson for his after-school group tomorrow”. 

He made a solemn promise to the Lord. He vowed to the Mighty One of Israel, (3) “I will not go home; I will not let myself rest.

(4) I will not let my eyes sleep nor close my eyelids in slumber until I find a place to build a house for the Lord, a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.”  ~Psalm 132:2

~~~

The last days of school are here, and that closes out our Christian after-school groups too.  Our daughter’s final one was this week.  We had a damper put on the week when she took a forceful kick to the face at soccer practice.  She was shaken more than anything, but also had a headache afterwards.  The next morning brought a fresh start and no aches, so she trooped to school, laden with Bible study pages and snacks for the group after school. 

On the ride home from her group (of 45 students in grades 3 through 5) she admitted that her head had hurt strongly before lunchtime, “but I knew the schedule wouldn’t really work out if I came home, so I just stayed, and everything worked out okay.”

(S)he made a solemn promise to the Lord. (S)he vowed to the Mighty One of Israel, (3) “I will not go home; I will not let myself rest.

(4) I will not let my eyes sleep nor close my eyelids in slumber until I find a place to build a house for the Lord, a sanctuary for the Mighty One of Israel.”  ~Psalm 132:2

What house for the Lord are we building today?

I praise the Lord for the suffering we are blessed to endure in His honor.

These stories are not in pride or exclusion—they are merely the ones happening on my street and in my purview.  Your tales of suffering and solemn promises to the Lord are testimonies too. 

It’s the teacher investing, absorbing, suffering to educate and empower her students.

It’s the nurse serving, caring, owning, suffering with her patients.

It’s you and it’s me in the roles we’ve been cast, making a solemn promise to the Lord to serve Him. 

Put in the work today.  

There will be suffering in our offerings, and that is a good and Godly thing.

 

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com