Wounded physician!
Verse for Today: Saturday, November 24, 2012
1 Samuel 22:2 – All those who were in distress or in debt
or discontented gathered round (David), and he became their leader. About four
hundred men were with him.
Those who follow the Lord are often seen to be a minority in
this world. In spite of the great service they deliver, they are not
recognized. Their place is often in the wilderness. The rich, famous, prestigious
and prominent people do not gather around or with them. They are mostly loners in their sojourn. They
attract problematic people who have life-linked anguishes, depravity and
insecurity. John the Baptizer was such a person who lived in the wilderness,
eating non-conventional food and wearing wild dress. Elijah was an unpopular prophet
who had to run away from the centers of action to live in hiding. The Lord
Jesus had no place to lay His head and so all the influential people kept away
from Him. The prominent Nicodemus met him only in the night for fear of being noticed
talking to the poor and illiterate Jesus. The rich Joseph of Arimathea came out
openly for Jesus only after His death. Only a handful of fishermen, tax
collectors, widows and destitute came to Him. They alone experienced the
blessedness of the poor in spirit. David was in demand for winning wars and
killing Goliath, but afterwards his skills and efficiency became his enemy and
the king wanted to get rid of him. The influential people of the land didn’t
want to join him as he ran for life. David became a wanderer and destitute and most
people didn’t want him because he had nothing to offer other than loneliness, insecurity
and uncertainties. But God was working behind the scene to lift him to the
throne as the forerunner of Jesus Christ and kept him going in the most
bewildering circumstances. His future was ordained of the Lord. So he had to be
patient with God’s plan for his life. David’s life is a challenge for those who
feel unwanted and unrecognized to patiently wait for God’s time to be lifted up
in life here and hereafter.
Dear friend, are you a broken, lonely, distressed and discontented
person wondering what to do and where to go? Perhaps you might see only trials
and troubles all around. During the rough patches of life, you might experience
alienation when even your best friends and associates deserting you. You might
be craving for fellowship and a time of intimate prayer partnership which might
be eluding you. But this is not a time to give in to pressures and
intimidations in life, but to look for those who need encouragement and
strength in times of trouble. There are a lot of people out there who have
trouble with family, finance, friendlessness, frustration and loneliness. Such
poor souls need your company and fellowship. As Jesus said, it is the sick that
need a physician and not the pseudo-spiritual. Instead of wallowing in your
loneliness, it is time to go to the broken and contrite people and share the
love of God with them. Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a battle. Your
way of handling distress by faith will speak to them and encourage them to keep
going in their times of pressure, tension and intimidation in life. As you
touch their lives with the love and compassion of God, your soul will find a revival.
When you feed the needy people around with the tearful bread that God has given
you, their souls will find revival. Today let us attract needy people to our
lonely caves as did David. Let the deprived come to us in search of the love of
Jesus as it was during the public ministry of Jesus when He was in the
wilderness. Let us give what we have received from the Lord to enrich the lives
of the spiritually broken and distressed people around. Such a ministry of
encouragement will strengthen us to keep walking by faith through this
wilderness journey as in the case of David, John the Baptizer and our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Acts 3:6 – Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not
have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
walk.”
Thought for Today
Dressing the wounds of
the brokenhearted is the best therapy for our own wounds.
______________________________
Write for further spiritual help, counseling and
prayer support.
NO COST OR OBLIGATION
No comments:
Post a Comment