Daily Devotional for Thursday, December 7

The Months

“And the ark of the Lord continued in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months: and the Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his household,” 2 Samuel 6:11.

Fear can lead us toward or away from something or someone. When we have a reverent fear of someone, we want our actions toward him to be honorable, and we long to be close to him because we know he will protect us. When we have an anxious fear of someone, we will do anything to stay away from him and avoid interacting with him at all, because we are scared he will hurt us.

David’s fear of the Lord changed from being astonished to being afraid. He let his fear get in the way of following the mission he had set out to accomplish. Instead of continuing to Jerusalem with the ark of the covenant, he “carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite” (2 Samuel 6:10). He let this fear keep him from the presence of God for three months. Meanwhile, God was blessing the entire household of Obed-edom in their reverence of the holiness that comes with the ark. They allowed the presence of God to fill their home, and in turn, God bestowed His blessings abundantly. For those three months, David not only missed out on completing his mission, he missed out on the closeness and fellowship with the holy Father. Imagine the blessings we can experience in our homes when we seek the holiness of God and allow Him to fill us and be a part of every area of our lives. After Christ arose, the veil in the Temple was torn, so we can approach God and experience the same presence and power contained in the ark.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Let us never take for granted the ability we have to approach the Almighty God. Let us seek His presence and allow it to fill our hearts and homes.

Ashley Ridings