Christian Devotional – January 22, 2023

The God who Hears, Day 21

Reputation. Read 1 Samuel chapter 21.

This is a difficult chapter for David. David found himself on the outs of everyone who knew him. He still needs food and he goes to visit the church and is working with them on what he’s needing. He gets the priest to give him bread and a weapon. He continues to hide by going over to the Philistines. However, David’s reputation follows him over there. The Philistines are very aware of who David is and what David has done. Now, David finds himself in a situation where he has to pretend to be crazy to avoid suspicion.

Our reputation will follow us everywhere and will last longer than we expect. What do people remember us for? How do people feel after an experience with us? Reputation is often built around the feelings of an individual that they have when they have an interaction with us. Do they feel happy, excited, hopeful? Or do they feel angry, resentful, sad? When we think about our reputation, we need to be building one that is glorifying to God. People will remember us and we are responsible for ensuring that they remember God even more than never remember us. What is our reputation?