ESOCS Devotional 19 April 2022
TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 2:3-9
MEMORY VERSE: “The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich, he bringeth low, and lifted up.” 1 Samuel 2:7
0 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted lace ”
Being humble requires one to subject himself to the authority of God and not show a higher sense of one’s importance or worth. Our text today is a prayer of Hannah when, upon having a son, she went to present him (Samuel) to God under the care of Eli the priest. In this prayer, we see lessons for the proud and humble.
The first is that we should bear in mind that God will judge our actions. He takes note of how we treat and relate with others when we are better off. Peninnah provoked and made Hannah fret because she had children and the LORD had shut up Hannah’s womb (1 Samuel 1:2-6). But here, we see Hannah rejoice for the LORD’s mercy in giving her seven children at old age when the younger Peninnah is waxed feeble (vs. 3-5). God does not abandon the righteous when the enemies are against them (Psalm 23:1, 5).
Secondly, we must know that life and wealth are in the hands of God. When we have them, we have got to use them to the glory of God and not to cause pain to the poor and less privileged. God has the capacity to take away the life and the wealth that He has given (vs. 7, 8; Psalm 75:7).
The end of man depends on what he does with what God has given him. The tradition is that: what a man sows is what he shall reap. The understanding that nobody can sustain his possessions and life by his own power is important for Christian living. We have got to know that, the hope to prevail over the challenges that life poses is in God through Jesus Christ. In verse 8b of our text, the Bible says, “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s and he hath set the world upon them”(Psalm 24:1; 1 Samuel 2:9).
Let us therefore be humble and rely on the mercy and grace of God. He does not fail.
- How do you relate with those that you are better than?
- Lord invest a humble spirit in me. Let me rely on your grace and mercy, in Jesus Name. Amen.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
FURTHER READING: Amos 6:1-8; Luke 8:40-end; Luke 18:15-30
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ESOCS Devotional 19 April 2022
