No more Lo-debar! 2 Samuel 9

Okay before we get into this devotional let’s all agree that I may have a shot at being a poet. I was able to successfully rhyme the words in my title. You get it… my using of the words “more” and “Lo-debar.”

Well to come and think about, maybe not.

Oh…I got it! Let’s use the meaning of the word “Lo-debar” which is “no more pasture.”

Okay here we go. No “more” and “no more pasture.”

Ahhhh, that’s more like it! Now repeat it with me 3x’s with your hands up in the air.

Don’t worry. No one’s watching you and if they are they probably already think that you’re crazy anyway. So go ahead, there’s nothing to lose.

Say it with me now. Here we go! Hands up! “No more no more pasture” “No more no more pasture” “No more no more pasture.”

Man that’s a tongue twister but it should ring true in your spirit. “Huh?” you ask. Don’t worry it’ll all make sense to you later. Read on.

You see the city of Lo-debar (no more pasture or rest) was a place where a guy by the name of Mephibosheth, Mephib for short, was laying low. No this guy wasn’t on the run from the law. Actually he was of royal decent and was being sought after so that the “law” could honor him (At least honor a promise made to his father Jonathan).

Mephib was a cripple who had been so since early childhood. So when I say that he was lying low, he literally was laying low. “But I thought you said that he was royalty. Why was he living in such circumstances?” Good question. As a matter of fact I wondered the same thing. Why would someone of royal statue be living in a place of no rest crippled? And then it hit me, his current statue wasn’t that of royalty, his blood line was royalty! It was all about who his dad was! This was the only reason that he was being sought after in the first place! King David, the law, wanted to fulfill a promise made to his friend Jonathan.

Needless to say as it would turn out King David actually sends for and brings Mephib from Lo-debar (the place of no rest). He then restores him back to his royal state by giving him a place at the king’s table and a place to live among them. (Man I could also expound upon these two points but for sake of time I won’t. I’ll let you do that on your own. You’re welcomed.)

No longer did Mephibosheth have to settle for being a cripple while living in a place of unrest. He was now accepted and desired in spite of his condition. He was restored. He was now free to raise his hands high and proudly proclaim, “No more Lo-debar!”

So what about you? Do you realize that you are being sought after? Do you need rest and restoration? If so then try this exercise of faith with me. Raise your head and hands to the sky while saying, “No more no more pasture!”

Adraine Scott

Adraine Scott is the president of EdvanceServices LLC. His entire professional career has been spent helping others find their unique ways of learning and being. He has been able to accomplish this by serving as a youth minister, speaker, counselor, college and career minister, secondary education teacher, and business owner.