Mar 13, 2026 – Abandonment
Prevail #72 – 1 Kings 11:4 – “In Solomon’s old age, [his wives] turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David had been.” This verse reminds us of something interesting and actually eye-opening. Before we all heard the stories about Solomon in later life, wouldn’t we have thought he was wise ‘til the end? We have to remember that just because we attain something, even something we pray for and receive as a blessing from God, doesn’t mean we automatically have it always. We have to maintain it, and our gratitude for it. Friendships, marriages, jobs, homes, yards etc aren’t fulfilling and in good condition just because we exist in them. We can’t let the weeds or idolatrous “wives” worm their way in to our thinking and being.
Today Larson is focusing on finishing strong which, unlike David, Solomon did not do. She points out that, “David sinned in profound ways. So why was God so taken with him? Because David’s heart was for God. David was humble, repentant, and deeply in love with the Lord his God. He finished well.” In her closing prayer, Larson offers us something we know well that we can (and should daily) pray to keep us on the best path going forward, “I’m prone to wander Lord…. Lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil. Help me to finish well. Amen.”
JC – “Learn to live above your circumstances. [sounds like lead and deliver to me] This requires focused time with Me, the One who overcame the world. [and who can indeed lead and deliver] …Only My Life in you can empower you to face this endless flow of problems with good cheer. As you sit quietly in My Presence, I shine Peace into your troubled mind and heart…. You gain My perspective on your life, enabling you to distinguish between what is important and what is not.” David sought God’s presence and guidance; Solomon looked to his wives.
Utmost – Chambers explains, “We have got so commercialised that we only go to God for something from Him, and not for Himself.” If our children, spouses, friends, and even co-workers only interacted with us when they needed something, it wouldn’t be much of a relationship and definitely wouldn’t be fulfilling. It would actually be draining. Chambers continues, “If we only give up something to God because we want more back, there is nothing of the Holy Spirit in our abandonment; it is miserable commercial self-interest. That we gain heaven, that we are delivered from sin, that we are made useful to God – these things never enter as considerations into real abandonment, which is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself…. Most of us desert Him – ‘Yes, Lord, I did hear Thy call; but my mother is in the road, my wife, my self-interest, and I can go no further.’ ‘Then,’ Jesus says, ‘you cannot be My disciple’…. God’s own abandonment will embrace all those you had to hurt in abandoning. Beware of stopping short of abandonment to God. Most of us know abandonment in vision only.”
Max uses the story of the loaves and fish in John 6:11 to address our questions about having enough to offer him, entitling his message, “Give Him What You Have.” He tells about how technically overwhelmed and inept he felt when email entered our world. How can we abandon ourselves to God when we feel like we don’t have much to offer. Max prompts us to consider with him, “You know the feeling. You know the paralyzing, deer-in-the-headlights fear that surfaces when the information is too much to learn, the change is too great to make, the grief is too deep to survive, or the crowd too numerous to feed.” When I wonder these thing about my inability to contribute, Don reminds me that that is a works mentality. Max offers, “Before you count your money, bread, or fish, and before you count yourself out, turn and look to the one standing next to you! Count first on Christ. He can help you do the impossible. You simply need to give him what you have and watch him work.”
Streams – Cowman shares a story written “by Mrs. Charles H. Spurgeon, who suffered greatly with poor health for more than twenty-five years.” The visual and emotional path she walks the reader on must be experienced in its entirety either by Googling today’s entry or buying/borrowing the book. The vital point to remember comes from Revelation 15:3 – “Just and true are your ways, King of the ages.”
Power – Though I could look at the notes in the back of just about every one of my devotion books and find references to the importance of positive thoughts and words, Joyce, more than anyone, focuses on it the most. She draws on Ephesians 5:4 as she makes such a good point about word choice, “Quite often people use the phrase ‘I hate.’ They hate driving to work, cleaning their houses, going to the grocery store, cutting the grass, paying their bills, and on and on.” Joyce shares the key reason of why what we think and say are so important to our well-being (and our ability to abandon ourselves to God), “I think each time we say we ‘hate’ something, it makes it harder for us to do it with joy the next time.”
She suggests, “Start saying by faith that you enjoy those things that are naturally more difficult for you to enjoy. Start staying it in obedience to God, and soon you will find those things to be more enjoyable.” Remember this important part of this: “We can talk ourselves into things and out of things…. you can have a good attitude and speak good words about it and make it a lot more pleasant.” Basically, abandon the negativity in your thoughts, words, and actions.
Simpson offers Jude 21 as a way to remain positive, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” He starts by telling about a “surpassingly beautiful sunset” that he had witnessed. He takes us to that moment as he writes, “The hue of the sky was so gorgeous that it seemed to reflect itself upon the whole atmosphere, as we looked back from the west to the eastern horizon…. And so it is, when the love of God shines through all our celestial sky, it covers everything below, and life becomes radiant with its light. [When we abandon ourselves to God] Things that were hard become easy. Things that were sharp become sweet. Labor loses its burden, and sorrow becomes silver-lined with hope and gladness.”
Simpson offers, “There are two ways of living in His love. One is constant trust, and the other is constant obedience, and His own Word gives the message for both. ‘If ye keep My commandments ye shall live in My love, even as I keep My Father’s, and live in His love.’”
JA – Today’s devotion enlightens us a bit on why abandonment of our thoughts, offenses, fears, etc are sometimes difficult as we are admonished, “DO NOT DWELL ON THE PAST, beloved. You can learn from the past, but don’t let it become your focus. You cannot undo things that have already occurred…. Instead of wishing for the impossible, come to Me and pour out your heart….. Reinforce your confidence in Me by saying frequently: ‘I trust You, Jesus’…. Dark clouds of worry are blown away by simple, childlike trust…. Ask Me to open the eyes of your mind and heart so you can see the many opportunities I’ve placed along your path…. Remember that I can make a way where there appears to be no way. With Me all things are possible!” See Isaiah 43:18-19, Psalm 62:8, and Matthew 19:26.
