Bible Reading: 1 Kings 1-2, Luke 22:54-71
Memory verse: “And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,” 1 Kings 1:29 (KJV)
King David was a man who saw it all in his lifetime. God visited him early in his teenage years and was anointed as King in place of Saul, who disobeyed God. He was divinely assisted to kill Goliath, a giant from the enemy nation and the women of the land sang his praises. That was when David’s problem started.
He became a fugitive in his teenage years and was hotly pursued by the king himself from country to country and city to city. Yet, God kept his soul intact that even while he was constantly on the move he was able to bring up mighty men. Even when he became king his son, Absalom, sought to take the throne from him. But God again, as before times, kept him and protected him. No wonder he could swear by the character of God to Beersheba on his bed of old age when news of his son, Adonijah’s treason came to him. “And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress,” 1 Kings 1:29 (KJV)
Distress is defined as a state of adversity, extreme pain and suffering, anguish of body and mind, danger, painful situation. Men in time past went through distress; Joseph went through distress. But God kept him all through. Isaac, Jacob and many servants of God all faced hard times, yet God kept their soul intact all through the distress. Many people today are going through distress because we live in a wicked world where every man wants things done his own way. And it is on the rise.
What kind of distress are you going through either at work, family, business, career or spiritually? God knows about it all and is capable of seeing you through it all. Please note that the signs all around the world shows challenges will rise but remember God’s word in Isaiah 43:2 (KJV), “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
It was this same God that protected David all through that he could swear to his wife in the character of God. Remember Joseph’s words to his brothers in Genesis 45:7 (KJV), “And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” Joseph realized that despite all he went through God was with him from the beginning of his ordeal to the end. Be focused and concentrate on God despite the anguish of your body and mind. Jesus’ ordeal in the hands of those He created was more than any man has ever passed through. Yet He totally committed Himself to His Father (Luke 22). God may not stop you from going through pain and suffering but be rest assured that if He allows it then it is for your own good.
Prayer: Father, help me to remain focused and lean on you completely no matter the situation around me in Jesus name.