What is “His Encouragement?”
Thursdays are always a really long day of the week for me. Since I’m a pastor, Sunday feels like the natural beginning to my week. By the time I get to Thursday, I am tired and drained. That’s why I’m excited to join with a group of blogging friends in order to offer you a weekly devotional which will be posted every Thursday. We are calling the series, “His Encouragement.”
It is my prayer that these words of encouragement inspired by scripture will help to carry you through the rest of your week My prayer is that this weekly series will be a much needed reminder that God loves you.
Christ the King Sunday
“The spirit of the Lord speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land
-2 Samuel 23:2-4
Full Lectionary Reading: 2 Samuel 23:1-7
This past Sunday, we celebrated Christ the King Sunday. It is the Sunday in the church calendar when we take a moment to pause before the season of preparation that is advent. During advent, we prepare our hearts for the coming of the birth of the baby Jesus. On Christ the King Sunday, we carve out special time to remember the fact that the same baby who was born on Christmas was also the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Prince of Peace.
When Christ came as a baby in a manager, he redefined the very notion of kingship. When the people imagined a King, they pictured a mighty king like David. Today’s scripture reading comes from the famous last words of King David, who was one of the ancestors of Jesus.
King David is thought by many to have been the most important King of Israel. If you are familiar with the Biblical text, you might know David as the same young man who defeated Goliath, the mighty giant (1 Samuel 17). Later, he grew up to replace King Saul as God’s anointed one and to rule over the Kingdom of Israel. Despite David’s many great deeds, he was not without his faults. You may also recall the story of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11).
David was not a perfect King, but he was a great servant of the Lord. He was such a mighty ruler that God made a covenant with David and promised that a member of his bloodline would always sit on the throne of Israel. This promise is known as the Davidic Covenant.
David and Bathsheba’s son, Solomon, eventually came to rule the Kingdom of Israel; however, even he was not as great a ruler as his father had been. After Solomon’s rule, the Kingdom of Israel began a slow and steady decline. In time, Israel split into the northern and southern kingdoms and was eventually conquered by Assyrian and Babylonian invaders.
So what happened to God’s promise? God had promised David that one of his descendants would always sit on the throne of Israel (2 Samuel 7). On Christ the King Sunday, we remember that God’s time is not our time. God keeps all of God’s promises.
God eventually sent a King even mightier than David. This King was one of David’s own descendants. However, unlike David, he did not have all the trappings of outward power and might. This new King was born to an unwed mother and had only a feed trough to use as his bed. His birth was heralded by lowly shepherds instead of mighty courtiers.
This King would not slay a physical giant as his ancestor David had done before him; instead, he would conquer death itself. And later, when this King was crowned, it would be with a crown of thorns.
This tiny baby, born in a lowly cattle stall, was greater when than the lightest King Israel had ever seen. He was greater even than King David.
David thought that this new type of King was so important that he prophesied His birth with his very last words. As we prepare for a busy advent season full of holiday preparations, it is my hope that you will join with me in rejoicing at the birth of not only a baby in a manger, but the coming of one who redefined the very meaning of Kingship.
This Christ the King Sunday (and always!) we rejoice that Christ is the King of Kings!
Please be sure to check out the other great bloggers involved in the His Encouragement weekly series!
Rev. Rebecca Writes 
This was beautifully written – thank you for sharing this today.
After a difficult week, this is a great reminder of all God has already done for me by giving His Son, Jesus. It is so true that God’s time and God’s plan often don’t match exactly to what we envision, but His plans are greater than what we could have ever hoped or prayed for.
I hope that this encouragement fills other readers with love and hope. 💜
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Thank you so much for your kind words! I hope that your week gets better. I use a lot of these posts as part of my sermons, so I’m always glad to hear feedback so that I can write the most effective messages. Thank you again for reading!
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Really love your post this week! This line resonated with me the most: “David was not a perfect King, but he was a great servant of the Lord.” Too many times, I do foolishly feel like I have to meet some perfect mark, when really I just need to serve God in all the capacities He is calling on me for each day. Thank you for this reminder!
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Thank you for stopping by and thank you for reading. I am also constantly stressed out by my tendency toward perfectionism. It’s important for me to be reminded that God alone is perfect. Jesus was already perfect, so I don’t have to be!
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Amen! I agree with Nicole that the line “David was not a perfect King, but he was a great servant of the Lord.” stuck out with me the most. I’m so glad you joined us for His Encouragement because I can tell that you put a lot of thought into your posts and the messages you are trying to share through them!
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Thank you so much 🙂 That truly means a great deal. I really enjoy being part of this group! Sometimes it can be hard to find one’s place online, but you are all so positive and full of God’s love. I truly enjoy all of you and being part of the His Encouragement series!
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I just started blogging in February myself and joined His Encouragement a few months later. It’s been pretty amazing how encouraging the blogging world has been and I’ve made some great friends in a short time. I know you’re newer too but don’t know exactly how new, but being a “social presence” is key to getting new followers and making new blogger friends 🙂
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I’m very new! I only started in October and I’m so glad to be here 🙂 thank you again for including me!
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Wonderful encouragement! We do need to remember, especially in this season, that Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It makes the story of His humble birth and earthly ministry even more powerful.
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Thank you so much for stopping by. Advent is such a special season, but it’s also a very stressful one for me. I need all the encouragement that I can get! I also need to always remember that Christ is the one in charge because He is the King of Kings. It’s an important reminder when I’m tempted to be a control nut!
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