"Leaving Lodebar"

Reflections4Life™ October 14, 2018

“Leaving Lodebar”

“Then King David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.” 2 Samuel 9:5

Scripture Contemplation: 2 Samuel 9; 2 Samuel 16; Jeremiah 31:31; Psalm 90; Isaiah 61…

©Ruthe McDonald.

There are times in our lives when we want a do over. Let's face it; we can royally screw up sometimes. Make the most outrageous mistakes, and cause a lot of pain in the process. Thank God for the chance to begin again. There are things we will never be able to fix or repair. Some relationships will never be mended. However, God is granting us to leave behind the old, dry, barren places in our lives. God is asking us to look straight ahead. Look in the direction that He has placed before us. Look at the ordained path that will lead to the manifestation of our blessings, leaving Lodebar behind.

I decree that this week’s Reflections4Life will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart mind and soul. Know and believe with all of your heart that your God has a special place for you at His table. At His table is an abundance of all that you need. This is your season to come out of Lodebar, a spiritual and physical space of drought, bareness, emptiness, and lack. It time sit at the Father’s table and receive all that God says is yours.

Beloved, Lodebar is a place of not enough. That place where dreams and visions often die or cannot be seen. It is a place where we slowly lose hope because so many things have not gone in our favor. It is a dry and crippling place. That place of living paycheck to paycheck, if you are fortunate to have employment. It is a place of broken promises and relationships, and a constant reminder of what you no longer have. It’s is time—way past time to leave Lodebar behind.

In the first book of Samuel, chapters 9-21, King David is looking for a member of King Saul’s house to bless. Despite what occurred between David and Saul, David respected Saul and loved Jonathon—King Saul’s son and David’s best friend. He wanted to show that love to anyone left in household of Saul. Mephibosheth was the one. He found living in Lodebar, crippled from an accident with his nanny, living beneath what his lineage called for. It was a desperate and barren place, especially for someone who was crippled and lived under the stigma of being King Saul’s grandson, and in fear of King David, wondering if his life would be taken because of who he was.

There are times in our life when we will find ourselves in a situation, not because of what we may have done but because of the actions of others in our lives. Perhaps parents, spouses, different relationships, that have left us in vulnerable positions and in a place where we feel stuck and unable to move away from; especially without assistance.

I realized a while ago, that though we may royally blow things, we and others, may have caused much hurt and pain in relationships, and have failed in our lives too many times to count; God can and will give us a reprieve. A chance to get things right, a chance to make the right choices, and the opportunity to leave Lodebar and walk in the promises and abundance He has ordained for our lives. David sought to restore Mephibosheth to his former lifestyle. He wanted to treat him with the respect and dignity that came with being the grandson of a King—no matter how much Saul had failed and gone mad.

One of the wonderful things about God is His power of restoration. As we start our lives over, God has the power to restore that, which was lost. To grant us a do over at the things we failed at miserably. He is bringing us from Lodebar to a place of abundance. Thank God for His second, third, fourth and fifth chances! It is by His mercies and goodness that we have not been destroyed by our foolishness or the foolishness of those around us but granted the opportunity to stand on our own and make responsible and respectable choices.

There are many of us spending too much time ruminating over the past, mistakes, and failures. We tend to be sidetracked by the things around us and can miss what is right before us. Beloved, it is time to look straight ahead. Look in the direction that God has placed before us. Look at the ordained path that will lead to the manifestation of our blessings and out of Lodebar.

Of course, this path is not simple! However, nothing worth having or accomplishing ever is. You can be certain that the enemy of our souls is waiting alongside that path to try and trip us up. It is a guarantee that he will do all that he can to make us fall, give up, get distracted and turn back. He can do none of these things successfully if we are fellowshipping with the Father and following His instructions, looking straight ahead. And should we fall? Then we get up, repent, and keep moving. We have to learn to forgive ourselves, learn, and grow from our experiences.

My Beloveds, may the spirit of peace and prosperity find permanent rest in your lives. I decree that every good thing that God has ordained for your life will become evident to you. Leave Lodebar behind! Do not look back or allow the sins of your bloodline keep you bound and hostage to a life of lowliness and despair; not when God says He has made a place for you at His table. Let the promises and word of God become your blinders, keeping you focus on the road ahead. Spend quality time in the presence of God, as He directs your path. Keep looking straight ahead with confidence, knowing that God has already answered your prayers. You are blessed. Now go…and be a blessing!

©2018. Ruthe McDonald. All Rights Reserved.