Guidelines Fit for a King

I had a day last week where I woke up with just enough time to exercise or do what we call at our house my God time. I chose to exercise. It ended up being one of those mornings where the blender bottom was not on tight so I ended up with a big mess. The electricity went out right when I was going to blow dry my hair. My ride was 30 minutes late and I was late to my first day of meetings at a new job. Upon arriving at the meeting, a tragedy in the community was being discussed. It was a day I wished I could just turn around and go back to bed. I had made a wrong choice. If I had chosen to spend time with God, I am sure all of the above would still have happened but my state of mind would have been much better. My response hopefully would have been a little gentler. I would have been able to laugh with my daughter when she told me to just be happy rather than give her one of those looks like I can’t believe you said that. I may have still wanted to go back to bed but it might not have felt so dramatic.

In Deut. 17, God knew that one day Israel would want a king so he gave them the guidelines for the king. The king is to not have too many horse or wives. He must not have too much wealth for himself. Lastly he is to copy this body of instruction and read it daily. By doing this, he will learn to fear God by his obedience to these guidelines. It will also keep him from becoming proud and thinking he is better than his subjects. Most of all it will keep him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. If it was important enough for a king to be in God’s word daily than it should be for me also. Time with God gives us a proper view of ourselves and helps us obey even in the small things. It is not a formula but a relationship. It is a time of worship not just going through the motions. For some people, morning time will be the best time to spend with God as it is for me. Other people will take advantage of their children’s nap time or right before they go to sleep. The important thing is that we as God’s followers are sitting at his feet each day.

Dear God, Thank you for your word. Thank you that you enjoy having us sit at your feet daily. May we have a right view of ourselves and a high view of you. May we follow you in each area of our lives no matter how small. Amen