SUNDAY 22 May, 2016
Passing before the King
And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. Then all his servants passed before him; and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king. - 2 Samuel 15:17-18
David quickly left his kingdom and he went as far as the Kidron Valley. In this beautiful place, he paused, to take one last longing look back at the city. Imagine, he must have thought to himself, “I am leaving, everything the Lord has given me is gone.” Perhaps, as he stood up and looked mournfully over the city he hoped that one day he would return.
However, David rested in the knowledge that God was going to take care of this whole situation. He trusted the Lord and left the outcome in His hands. As David solemnly stood on the outskirts of the city, his faithful warriors passed before him. These men were not cowards they had fought alongside him in Gath (2 Samuel 8:1, 18).
When we see that a leader is weary and fighting a battle from the position of weakness, it is our responsibility to graciously lift up their arms. Moses, with the rod of God, stood and lifted up his hands to the Lord as Joshua fought against Amalek. When he let down his hands their enemy prevailed. He needed help and support. In Exodus 17:12-13 we read:
…and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Do you lift up leaders arms in times of weariness and weakness?
Demas has forsaken me … Only Luke is with me…
~1 Timothy 4:10-11~
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