“No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the Lord’s anointed one? Surely the Lord will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The Lord forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed!” [1 Samuel 26:9-11 (NLT)]
But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.” [Acts 13:22 (NLT)]
In the Gospel stories of the two miraculous catches of fish, experience told the disciples that fishing in the light of day was the wrong time and casting a net from the right side of the boat was the wrong way to do it. Nevertheless, that’s exactly how Jesus told them to fish. If we look at those stories more figuratively, we see that night time was man’s time and the boat’s left side was man’s way. Those miraculous catches, however, tell us that the right time is whenever God says it is and the right way is however God says it’s to be done!
It’s not just in His fishing instructions to the disciples that we find Jesus’ way counter-intuitive and unconventional. Man’s way is to hold grudges but Jesus’ is to offer forgiveness. Man’s way is to get even; Jesus’ is to be merciful. Man’s way is exclusive; Jesus’ is inclusive. Man’s way values power, authority, and wealth; Jesus’ way values the meek, humble, and poor. Man’s way declares certain people unclean, disgraceful, worthless, or untouchable; Jesus’ way loves and touches them all. Man’s way is to be self-sufficient; Jesus’ is to be God-dependent. Man’s way doesn’t turn the other cheek, find strength in weakness, or go the extra mile, but Jesus’ way does! As strange as it sometimes sounds, God’s way always is the right way!
Seeing the oppression of his people under Pharaoh, Moses initially tried to do things his way in his own time. After observing an Egyptian beating a fellow Hebrew, he killed the offender and hid the body in the sand. While his motive was good, Moses accomplished nothing by killing one Egyptian. Doing it his way meant fleeing Egypt, separation from his own people, losing his position and power, and 40 years as an alien in a foreign land. Meanwhile, the Hebrews spent another 40 miserable years in slavery! It was only when Moses abided by God’s timing and way that he brought Egypt to its knees and the entire Hebrew nation to freedom!
On the other hand, when David was on the run from Saul, he passed up two opportunities to kill the king and take the crown. Even though he’d been anointed king by Samuel, David knew that God anointed Saul first. David trusted that, in God’s time and His way, Saul would fall and he faithfully waited until God’s time. He was, indeed, a man after God’s own heart!
As counter-intuitive as it often seems, we’re supposed to do things God’s way in His time. It’s not a question of how or when it’s always been done or we want to do it; it’s how and when God wants it done! Remember, if we’re not fishing at His time from the right side of the boat, it doesn’t matter how many times we drop that net!
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” [Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)]
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (NLT)]
Copyright ©2024 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Do these verses mean I can’t wear my pearl earrings, diamond wedding ring, or gold cross to church? Do I have to say “farewell” to Nordstrom’s and start shopping solely at outlets and discount stores? Although my hair is short, it’s hard to believe my grand’s lovely French braids are inappropriate at church or anywhere else. What did Paul and Peter mean with their admonitions about women’s attire and modesty?
I grew up attending the Episcopal Church at a time when women covered their heads during worship and the men worshipped bare-headed. While not a hard and fast rule in the denomination, it was a time-honored tradition. Women wearing head coverings in Episcopal and Catholic churches began to wane in the 70s and, by 1983, the Roman Catholic church no longer had rules regarding headwear for men or women. The last time I attended an Episcopal or Catholic church, the women were hatless and some of the men wore baseball caps! Although culture plays an important role in the way we dress and behave in church, how do we interpret Paul’s words today? Should I dig out my mantilla and must our pastor toss out his ball cap?
Jeopardy introduced me to the word “performative” but, in an article about how scandals are hurting organized religion, the New York Times introduced me to another new word, “orthopraxy.” While “orthodoxy” means correct belief, doctrine, or teaching, “orthopraxy” has to do with correct practice, behavior, or action. Orthodoxy says, “Hear my words!” but orthopraxy says, “Watch my behavior!” With the flood of scandals throughout the Christian church, it’s easy to point our fingers at the disgraced Christian celebrities, megachurch pastors, and Roman Catholic priests whose orthodoxy didn’t match their orthopraxy—people who espoused devotion to God and adherence to His word while disregarding it in their own lives. Let’s remember, however, that whenever we point a finger at someone, three other fingers point at us! Although the Times article was about the disconnect between orthodoxy and orthopraxy in the church at large, there’s often a disconnect between the two in our personal lives, as well.
In the category of “Newer Words,” the night’s Final Jeopardy clue was, “Philosopher’s use it for language that accompanies an action, like ‘I dub thee knight’; it also means done for show or signal.” The correct response was “performative.” A new word to me, I encountered it again the following day in an article by Rich Villodas about “performative spirituality.” After asking, ”If a good deed is not posted on social media, did it really happen?” Villodas continued with another rhetorical question, “If an act of generosity is not caught on camera and never goes viral, was it a worthwhile gesture?”
Because the pastor’s sermon was about being thankful, she’d selected “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” as the evening’s opening hymn. Henry Alford wrote this hymn in 1844 for village harvest festivals in England called Harvest Home. Rural churches would celebrate the harvest by decorating with pumpkins and autumn leaves, collecting the harvest bounty, and then distributing it to the needy. Because of its seasonal harvest imagery, we usually sing this hymn in November at Thanksgiving but this was mid-July! Reading the hymn’s words out of their traditional Thanksgiving context, I understood their meaning in an entirely different way.
Devotions of the Heart 