PROPHETS - DEBORAH - DAY FIVE
Hello and welcome to our weekly devos following our Prophets series! These devo’s are Monday through Friday and pair with this past week’s message. Be sure to journal your thoughts, vocalize your prayers, and find God in all moments of your life this week.
THEME SCRIPTURE:
Judges 4:1-7 (NIV)
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. 3 Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.
4 Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. 6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7 I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”
TODAY’S PASSAGE:
1 Corinthians 15:57
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
REFLECTION:
At the Beijing Olympics in August of 2008, Usain Bolt won the 100m sprint with an incredible world record time of 9.69 seconds. This was strides ahead of his opponents despite slowing down and beating his chest before the finish line. He was also a fan favorite for the 200m sprint. Still, nobody expected him to beat Michael Johnson’s extraordinary world record time of 19.32s, particularly as the race ran into a headwind. This time, however, Bolt sprinted through all the way to the finish line, winning the world record with a time of 19.30 seconds. It was an incredible victory to watch, a man at the top of his personal game and the world of sprinting. What we didn't see was what had come before. For 6 days a week, 11 months of the year, Bolt was training vigorously, preparing his body for the race. He was strengthening his muscles, monitoring his body, and sticking to a strict diet. The victory may have taken seconds, but the preparation took years.
God will give you victory! It's said plainly and clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:57. However, I think a lot of us struggle to have the faith to get to the victory because all we have seen is the preparation. Yet it is through that preparation, through the struggle and hardships, that God is leading us to the victory. God will go before. He will clear the path. God knows what is ahead of us. He is preparing us for the victory.
THOUGHTS TO PONDER:
Take some time today to stop and thank God for the victory that is ahead. If you struggle to see the victory, ask Him to give you the faith and trust to lean into God. Take some time to journal your thoughts about this subject and what we have talked through this week as we consider what we learned about Deborah on Sunday.
