Shepherd Daily Devotional – Let them hear

Written By Ben Dankaka

Meditation – John 20:29-31

Too often, we want to be celebrated the moment we start pursing our dreams. While we are still in the labor room, trying to give birth to the idea that God had placed inside of us, we start asking people to support our dreams because we believe we have an idea or project that will be great. We compel people to sponsor an idea they haven’t seen with their own eyes. Well, you may have a great project in mind; you may have an idea that could make you and others rich, but if the idea is still in your head, people aren’t going to support you as you would expect them to do because, in general, people are more interested in what you have done than in what you intend to do.

Several years ago, when I told people I wanted to start a non-governmental organization, I didn’t get enough support from family and friends. I remember it was only my mother who gave me a few bucks to cover my transportation on the first day. So I didn’t have any other choice than to start without capital. Within the first few months, my volunteers abandoned my project when they didn’t see any meaningful results. At that time, the ideas I had about the project was inside my head and I couldn’t convince others that it was profitable. Later, when my project was selected and honored with an award, people began to show interest in the project. I was surprised when one of the persons who initially didn’t show much interest in the project suddenly asked me; “Ben, how do I support your project?”

People prefer to support an idea that has been tested. This is a universal principle. What you intend to do isn’t what people want to hear. Your achievements are the things that draw people to you. We saw that happened when Saul was made king. At first, there were some Israelites who didn’t embrace the idea of having Saul as king because they didn’t know what he could do. In other words, they saw him as an idea that hadn’t been tested. So they despised him.

But Saul was wise. He didn’t try to convince them. Instead, he kept silent and waited for an opportunity. Soon afterwards, his people were threatened by Nahash the Ammonite. Saul seized the occasion to prove himself. After leading a successful war against the enemies, the people discovered what he could do. That is, he became an idea that had been tested. So they decided to support him by reaffirming his kingship. The same thing happened to Jesus when He told His disciples He would die and then come back to life. They didn’t believe him. But when it happened, Thomas held His hands and said, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

Prayer: Lord, enable me to prove my critics wrong by my achievements. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: 1 Samuel 11: 1-15; John 20:28-31

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.