A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself. – Proverbs 11:17
A thought from the post “The Boomerang Effect” was that getting what you want in the wrong way is short term and inconsistent. History tells us that there is usually a negative boomerang effect. On the other hand, kindness is never wasted. It will wear well and be remembered.
Be spurred on by the song Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw and believe this day with God will be amazing because what you make happen for others will be given back. Give a smile and a smile will be returned; act kind and receive kindness from others.
Getting what we want in the wrong way is short term and history tells us that there is usually a negative boomerang effect. On the other hand, following the principles of God are productive and efficient.
In the events recorded in Judges 9, the unkind and selfish motives are demonstrated repeatedly. After Gideon’s death, his son named Abimelek convinced his brothers and the people that it would be best to have one leader and that he would be the best leader for them. He also reminded them that he was their flesh and blood.
Once given power, he killed his 70 brothers. Only the youngest brother name Jotham was able to escape. He ruled over Israel for just a short time and these three years were full of trouble as new leaders began to challenge Abimelek’s authority. There was insurrection but Abimelech was warned each time so that actions could be taken to control the rebellion.
Unfortunately, Abimelek wanted revenge against those who were revolting against him so he turned on the city that had given him power in the first place. As the city was about to totally be destroyed, a woman threw down a stone that crushed his skull. Rather than being killed by a woman, Abimelek had his armor-bearer finish him off with his sword (vv. 53-54).
There are consequences for unkind and selfish desires so we constantly need to ask ourselves if we are following the principles of God’s Word or if we have our own ambitions that go against the ways of God. Respecting others and living a life of kindness toward others is never wasted. It will wear well for a legacy that will be remembered in a positive way.
This day with You Lord, we pray for understanding the Way as we follow Your Word. As we learned from today’s passage, getting what we want in life in the wrong way is short term and usually backfires to cause harm in the long term. We seek to help out our neighbors with kindness so the world is a better place. Amen.
At times, you may question God. It’s hard to see how some difficulties can be overcome. But friend, God can make the impossible possible. This poem encourages you to believe in His power! To have faith in your own abilities to do His work.
Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. – Psalm 60:11-12
The post “Coming Together” highlighted how Gideon overcame adversity throughout his life to do great things for God. As leader, his people achieved their aims and stepped ahead of their enemies. He then gave credit to God for all the victories.
The people had good leadership with a plan for them to achieve amazing things. Most of all, the Words of God gave the victory because Gideon listened. Let us praise God with the song Words by Hawk Nelson. Like the song says, “Words can build us up, words can break us down; start a fire in our hearts, or put it out”.
On Dec. 21, 2020 we had the convergence or coming together of Jupiter and Saturn. These planets looked as though they merged together and were closer to each other than they had been in 800 years to form a bright star in the southwestern sky much like the star of Christmas. In a similar way, God provides a convergence of people to guide us to Jesus; the ONE born in a world of turmoil that needed a Redeemer.
Today, we are reading from Judges 8. The Ephraimites wanted to take the glory of victory and resented that they were not allowed to be involved in the attack of the Midianites but words are powerful and Gideon was able to appease them by telling them how much they had contributed to the victory and their resentment subsided.
Since the motive of the Ephraimites was fame and glory for themselves, God did not get any credit for victory in their eyes. Also, the people being led by Gideon wanted to give all the credit to Gideon for the victory. Let us take today’s passage as encouragement as we read that Gideon the unselfish leader gave the credit to God and refused to accept the authority offered to him when the Israelites ask him to rule over them.
Gideon had come together with God and played a big part in saving His people from the hand of Midian but Gideon told them that he would not rule over them but suggested that they let the Lord rule over them and be their king (v. 23). If in our own lives, we are humble like Gideon and work together for God’s glory, we will be victorious too! We will consistently beat the enemy because of our coming together and stepping ahead to achieve God’s plan for us.
This day with You Lord we have a plan that always brings victory in our life. Your power will work through us to accomplish amazing things. Like Gideon demonstrates in today’s passage, by listening to You, we are assured that the best days are ahead. On our journey to the future, we are growing because of a life transforming relationship with Jesus who has taught about merging our individual strengths together to accomplish more than we could ever imagine. Amen.
This Day With God - A Spiritual Journey 