(2nd Sam 9:3 NIV) The king asked, "Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God's kindness?"
Yesterday I introduced you to Mephibosheth and his tragic story. But hold on, it gets better. One-day king David, seemingly 'out of the blue,' asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?" David had established a covenant with Jonathan and they both agreed to take care of each other's families if anything ever happened to one of them (see 1st Sam 20). Ziba, one of David's servants, said, "There is still a son of Jonathan; but he is lame in both feet." Isn't that how people are? They label us with our issue. Here's a side note: don't let anyone label you with the pain of your past. Resolve to move forward by faith.
But let me continue... "Where is he?" David asked. Ziba answered, "He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo-Debar." King David sent a team to get Mephibosheth and bring him to the royal palace. When Mephibosheth arrived he bowed down in honor of the king. What a weird turn of events. The kid who was destined to be king was now bowing before the person who occupied the throne that used to belong to his family. I am sure it must have been emotionally hard for Mephibosheth to be there; especially not knowing what he was there for. King David said, "Mephibosheth!" "At your service," he replied. "Don't be afraid," David said went on to say, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."
Wow! I am sure Mephibosheth did not expect that to come out of David's mouth. It was too much for Mephibosheth to fathom, so he bowed down again and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?" We will stop here for today.
So what does this mean to you ? It means that your opinion of yourself is extremely important. Because Mephibosheth's 'train of life' had fallen on the tracks he could no longer see himself the way he did when he was a boy. Even when the king said that he was restoring all the land that belonged to his grandfather, Mephibosheth could not wrap his head around it, because he saw himself defeated. Solomon said, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" (Prov 23:7).
Inside every one of us is an image I call an "invisible fence," which dictates how far we can go and what we see ourselves doing and being. It is an invisible wall between you and God, holding you back, and keeping you from stepping out and doing what seems impossible. If you attempt to go outside this fence, your subconscious mind brings you back. I call it your "autopilot." It's designed to keep you on course at the level of your self-image."
Mephibosheth's self-image was set to "defeated," so he could not open himself up to the power of the blessing he was being bestowed. Don't let this happen to you! If you allow the enemy to stress you out to the point where you set your self-image to "defeated," then no matter what God attempts to do in your life and no matter how hard He tries to bless you, you will simply not receive it, because you will not see yourself as worthy of it. Guess what? None of us are worthy. Get over it! Accept God's opinion of you so that you can walk in His blessings!
Father, I refuse to allow the enemy to cause me to see myself as a dead dog. I refuse to allow the pressures of life to cause me to set my self-image to "defeated." As a matter of fact, through the renewing power of Your Word and the encouragement of Your Spirit, I am able to see myself the way that You see me. Like Mephibosheth, I know that You desire to bless me, not because of anything that I have done, but rather because of the covenant that You have established for me through the blood of Jesus Your Son. When You look at me You see the blood. When the enemy stands before You to accuse me, Your Son Jesus is my advocate and He pleads my case, once again, not on the basis of what I have done, but rather on the basis of what He already did for me! You then bless me richly, because of Jesus. My job is to align my thoughts with Your thoughts of me, so that I don't fight the process and so that I am able to receive the blessing. I declare that I will! I walk in Your blessing today and every day! In Jesus' name. Amen!
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