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Do you Praise Self or God?

by | Oct 16, 2019 | Uncategorized

Running on Faith Weekday Devotions:

Is authentically praising God the permanent state of your heart, mind & soul?

1 Samuel 17:37: “And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the LORD be with you.’”

1 Peter 5:8: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Imagine David surviving attacks by both the Lion and Bear.

Do you, like David, give all credit & glory to the Lord?

By default, our heart, mind, & soul give credit & glory to the one in whom we trust for eternal salvation. We either trust Jesus or ourselves, in everything.

Elah Valley where David fought Goliath. Israel was on one side of the valley, the Philistines were on the other side. Perhaps semi-truck traffic on the highway distracted Goliath… (Since some are wound a little tight; yes, I am joking)

I remain amazed that I ran thousands of miles in windchill down to minus 70F. I hate cold weather! God surrounded me with the people & desire to get it done.

In January 2015, I forgot my stocking hat when traveling to speak in Ohio. The temp was minus 4F, plus windchill. The Lord revealed that the extra hand towels in the hotel room would serve as a stocking hat substitute. P.S. I am not tech savy enough to flip to upright like it is in my computer.

Who has God placed in your life & what passions have He given you to achieve His desires in your life? Intentionally praise God for everything!

Ponderings:

Consider at least FIVE times that God has rescued you out of a deadly physical or spiritual situation.

Never before in my many years of traveling and running in the cold had I considered using hand towels to keep my head and ears warm. The idea came to me in an instant!

What ideas have come to you in an instant?

Compare situations that you instantly recognized God rescuing you vs when you did not recognize His rescue until long (a relative term) after the rescue.

What, if any, correlations do you see between your instant vs delayed recognitions?

Consider at least three instances when God placed His desires on your heart and surrounded you with amazing people to enable you to achieve His will in your life.

How do your attitude and inner-spiritual health differ between when you give glory to self vs glory to God?

Why do we often transfer credit and glory to ourselves, away from God?

Do you specifically request that the Lord go with you and your friends and peers?

Why should we recognize and reflect on past victories from the Lord?

Do you notice how David draws hope (i.e. confident expectation) from past victories for his immediate impending battle against the Philistine?