- And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. 1 Kings 13:24 – In my days of working at a zoo, I spent a lot of time working with the big cats there, and this sort of behavior would have been extremely uncommon. First for a lion to attack prey just for the fun of it, for we see later on the lion didn’t eat the prophet, isn’t the norm for a wild animal. Then for the lion to stand beside the body with the donkey and not attack the donkey, nor the other people who passed by, would have been highly unusual. Clearly everyone at the time of this event, and us who are reading it many years later, can tell this was a situation brought about by the Lord. All the extremely unusual aspects of this story reveal that God’s hands must have been orchestrating it. As we then progress through the events of life, allow the extremely unusual happenings in life to be reminders to refocus on the Lord. When we come out unhurt from an accident that should have killed us, when the disease just decides to completely leave one our day, or when see that hardened, lost person falls on their knees at the altar…these are unusual things that happened because God’s hands were all over them. Let then the sight of such unusual happenings cause your eyes to begin looking faithfully towards your Heavenly Father once again. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3057
- 1 Kings 13 Daily DEVO And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’ And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. 1 Kings 13:16-18 – I’ll be honest and say even I would be torn as to what to do in this situation. Do I keep on or is this a new command from God? We must be able to discern in situations like these. Know God doesn’t contradict Himself so if a command you hear from man is in opposition from the command God gave then it’s not from God. Also be willing to stop long enough in these times to ask God which way, something we didn’t see the first guy do. When it comes down to listening to what God has clearly spoken to you versus a new command that man has given you, follow what you know is true from God. If God wants to make a change in your path, He’ll make it clear. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1014
- And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 1 Kings 13:6 – The king was in trouble, he pleaded for God’s help, and God’s help came. What we must understand is this sequence is something that God desires from us. God wants us coming to Him in our times of need and leaning on Him for help. What isn’t honoring to Him is only coming to Him when we think we need help. As we can see clearly from the rest of the chapter, the king doesn’t change his ways to begin a full pursuit of God after his healing. The king came for help then turned away from God when he “didn’t need” God anymore. Know today, you need God. Maybe you’re in a season of struggle and that need is obvious, or maybe your season is currently filled with joy and the need for God isn’t as clear. But today, hear this truth, you need God like never before. So lean into your life with Him. Don’t let your habit be just a turning to God when life turned out poorly. Whether you think you “need” God or not today, approach Him today and seek Him out. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2197
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