January 9, 2021 CAC Living Water Devotional : Topic – YOU ‘CHOP’ ALONE…
Read previous CAC Living Water Devotionals here
LIVING WATER CAC DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Saturday, January 9, 2021
YOU ‘CHOP’ ALONE…
Read: 1 Samuel 30:26-31
1 Samuel 30:26-31 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord;
To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir,
And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,
And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites,
And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach,
And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
MEMORISE:
And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the Lord; (1 Samuel 30:26).
EXPOSITION
David sought the face of the Lord, followed His directive, and with his men alone (with God’s backing), went after their raiders, and succeeded in recovering their earlier looted belongings. God also gave them more booties from their enemies. On his return home, no one aside God would have challenged David had he decided to keep his booties to himself and his men. After all, they went alone, faced the fierceness of the battle alone, and won alone. However, from the perspective, it is sheer selflessness for David to have chosen not to ‘chop’ them alone.
It was once the slogan of some commercial motorists somewhere that “You chop alone, you die alone.” They normally used this to caution those in power as union leaders among them, that if they choose to enjoy the prerogatives of power alone, the time might come when they would have issues and would need others. At such points, the followers would also abandon them to face their music alone.
This is not untrue of the Christian journey. He would lacks giving attitudes has the Grab-it-all tendency, and a look throughout the Scripture reveals that such people don’t end well. The parable of the rich fool readily comes to mind here. What of Nabal, yhr foolish?
David chose not to be a chop-alone fellow (cf. 1 Sam. 30:22ff), and it paid off. Those worthless guys had wanted to push him towards selfishness (v.22,) but David wisely silenced them, and laid a good and godly legacy (vv. 23-25). Can this be said of you wherever you are as a leader, where you are privileged with some edges above others? Hope you are not a ‘winner-takes-it-all person?’ Jesus sacrificial lifestyle is our perfect model.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Lord, let my life be a demonstration of Your perfect sacrificial lifestyle here on earth.
2. Lord, deliver me from all selfish, ‘grab-it-all’ tendencies in my life, in Jesus name.
3. Pray that we would all be aware of the temptation to be selfish in every position of authority that God helps us to attain in life, and that God should help suppress it always.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Genesis 20:17-23:4; Matthew 7:5-7:26