Smoked Brisket

• Printable Version - Share on Facebook - Posted by Dion Todd June 5, 2017 - Filed in Devotional - 8,598 views
  David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill-country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn't deliver him into his hand. 1 Samuel 23:14 WEB
  
  After a long fast, we bought a wood smoker. You could call it a rebound effect. The smoker works as an outdoor slow cooker and it is common to take all day. One of the first things that we made was smoked beef brisket.
  
  The brisket is one of the toughest pieces of meat that exists. While trimming it, I could not find a knife in our house that worked, and I tried several. We wrestled with it all over the kitchen, as we tried to hold it down and cut off the edges. An electric knife would have been better. Just trying to insert a meat thermometer would push it around the counter top like a rock.
  
  We put it in the smoker that evening and slow cooked it for twenty four hours at 225 degrees, six hours directly on the rack, and the rest wrapped in tin foil. When we took it out, you could cut it with a fork. You no longer needed a knife at all. The toughest cut of meat was now the most tender, but it took time and heat, lots of it.
  
  David was called, he was anointed, but he needed something else: Preparation. David had to hide from Saul for years, even though he had already been anointed as king by Samuel, and God was certainly with him. David later came out of the wilderness and became king.
  
  Moses spent forty years in the wilderness as a simple shepherd, preparing to care for God's sheep (Acts 7:30). Moses had been a strong young man, but instead God chose to use him at eighty. After thoroughly baking him, Moses came out of the wilderness in power.
  
  Jesus was the perfect Man, sinless, blameless and without fault. Yet He spent forty days in the wilderness before He began His ministry. It was a time of testing (Mark 1:13). Jesus came out of the wilderness walking in the power of God.
  
  The trials that you face are preparing you for what God has in store. If you are ever going to be a leader, you will have to spend some time in the wilderness. When you come out, you will have credibility because of what you have experienced, and a testimony to share with others. God has a way of softening the toughest of us.
  
  Prayer: Heavenly Father I look to You in faith today. I know that the plans that You have for me are good. I don't understand some of the things that I am going through, but I choose to trust You because You love me and You know best. Guide me today, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
  
  Note: Good morning! The highlighted group of the week is Spiritually Single, a group focused on supporting those who are married to "pre-believers" and have to deal with the special challenges involved. This group also hosts "Fast & Pray Friday" each week to provide prayer and intentional fasting towards this goal. If that is you, or you would like to join them in prayer, you are welcome to join! ALSO, the Creation Photographers theme of the week is "Reflections of Summer" based on Genesis 8:22. As always, you are free to post anything else that inspires you, too! FINALLY, the Healthful Living challenge for the month is "Joyful in June!" - all are welcome to join us as we focus on the joy of being a child of the King!
  
  

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