Kingdom: A 7-Day Devotional With Maverick City X Kirk FranklinSample

“It breaks your heart

When you see me dancing with the enemy.

Yes it breaks your heart

When you see your bride in adultery.”

- Jealous, Maverick City Music, Kirk Franklin

Jealousy, for good reason, is often deemed a negative quality. In many situations, it is unhealthy. However, it is worth noting moments in which it’s a quality that actually preserves a relationship, rather than ruins it. When a husband and wife have a fierce jealousy for one another, it will catalyze a greater pursuit of each other. It is right for a husband to desire that his wife be faithful to him, just as it is right that a wife should desire for her husband to be faithful to her. It is no surprise that when there is infidelity, it leads to hurt. God has the same desire for us. We are His Bride. The lengths Jesus went to in order for us to be reconciled back to God were of no small price. Jesus was longing for us to be restored to Him, so much so that He suffered an unthinkable price so that we may not have to.

Jesus said the first and greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” He also agreed with the words of Moses’ in the Great Commandments to “have no other gods before me”.This was not only a command, it was also a warning. God knows the paths false gods will lead us down. It leads to a life of destitution and emptiness. The promise of what sin offers is fulfilling for only a moment. Its pleasure quickly wears off and leaves us back in the same place of brokenness. God’s jealousy is actually His kindness. Without it, we’d become like grass without water, never flourishing.

God’s jealousy is kindled when we put our trust in idols. It is enraged when we place our confidence in ourselves rather than the life of Christ that is now within us. When we have access to the Kingdom of God within us, but turn to other things, it is the jealousy of God that will rescue us, just as Hosea rescued Gomer. May the jealousy of God consume your heart as you long to know Him more.

SCRIPTURE:

• “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” Matthew 22:37
• ”You shall have no other gods before me” Exodus 20:3
• “Can marshy grass flourish without water? While still growing, not yet ready to be cut, they begin to wither even more quickly than grass. The same happens to all who forget God; the hopes of godless people evaporate, their confidence is fragile, they trust in a spider’s web. They cling to their home for security, but it will never last. They hold it tight, but it will not endure.” Job 8:12-15
• “Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness will be his reward.” Job 15:31
• “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” Deuteronomy 4:24

QUESTIONS:

• Why is it important to remember that the Lord is a “jealous God”? What role does this attribute play in His pursuit of you?
• How does knowing God is jealous for you influence your perspective of Him as your Lord?