WEDNESDAY September 18, 2019

Showing Respect

And he said, “Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, and serve other gods.’ So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
1 Samuel 26:18-20

Once again, David opened up his heart to Saul. He tried to reason with him by saying, “Why would you want to come against a flea?” Remember, Saul was harassed by an evil spirit––a demon (1 Samuel 16:14-16). In turn, Saul in insane jealousy, harassed David. Despite continued persecution from Saul, and even though he was a man who was not in submission to God, David continued to show him great respect.

There are those people who continually do things to aggravate us. Know that behind the scenes it is really the enemy who is trying to harass us. In handling situations where people rub you the wrong way, try to teach them the right way; help them to see things clearly, and use common sense. Remain humble, and do not come against them. Pray that the Lord will take the blinders off their eyes, so they can see the error of their ways.

It is very easy to show respect to those who demonstrate respect to us, but to those who insult us, it is in our very nature to become angry and desire retribution. At times, we are tried and tested by people who annoy us. How have you reacted to them? God can use these circumstances to reach out to lost sinners, they need to see the love of Christ in our actions and words.

We are the Bibles the world is reading; we are the creeds the world is needing; we are the sermons the world is heeding.
~Billy Graham~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!