Guard what you've been given…. and stay close to the King...

After several years have gone by, and God knows that the timing is right (2 Chronicles chapter 23), a minutely detailed plan of action is put into place so that Joash can be crowned as King. Each priest and each soldier know exactly where he should be and what was expected of him. A phrase that stood out to me in verse 6 is that the military men were told to guard what the Lord had assigned to them. In its context, of course, it simply meant that they were to observe and not overstep the Lord's command (they were not to enter the Temple, as the priests and Levites did.) But the phrase struck me as being a good way to describe our own responsibility to guard what the Lord has entrusted to us.

• What are the values that we are to guard with diligence?
• What are the tasks or visions that we are to hold on to, and not give up on?
• And what are the boundaries we are not to overstep; the good ideas we shouldn't actually be doing, and the places we are not supposed to go?

And then, in verse 7, we find another phrase that is a key to success: the men were told to, "Stay close to the king wherever he goes." Of course, in context, it meant that they were to stay close to little Joash to protect him because he was vulnerable. In our case, the opposite is true: we need to stay close to Jesus because we are human and vulnerable; we need the security of His presence and His guidance as we seek to live out our destiny and follow His will for our life.