Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Be – Hebrews 13:7 – A Joy – Growing As Disciples

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews 13:17 (NIV)

Keep Watch

I have placed spiritual leaders to help keep watch over your soul. I have placed you as a spiritual leader to watch over the souls of others. You should not remain distant and aloof from others. I have made you to live in community with others so that you can watch over each other’s soul. This is an important responsibility that I have given to you.

How can I faithfully fulfill the responsibility that you have given to me? That is a very good question. You have two different responsibilities. Two responsibilities? Yes, you have two very different responsibilities. First, you have the responsibility to allow yourself to be watched over by your spiritual leaders. What responsibility does allowing myself to be watched over by my spiritual leaders require. What do you think? I think I need to show up. I need to make myself available. I need to live in a close relationship with my spiritual leaders. I can’t go my own way and do my own thing. I need to submit myself to the leadership of those you have placed over my life. I need to listen and put into practice what I hear from my spiritual leaders. I need to listen to their wisdom and receive their guidance. I need to make it a joy for my spiritual leaders to keep watch over my soul. How will you do that? I will obey them. I will submit to their leadership over my life. That will be very good. Is there something you need to stop doing? I thought you might ask that. I need to stop setting myself up a judge, evaluator and critic of the spiritual leaders you have placed over me in my life. They will have no joy when I do that. That’s right.

You also will have the responsibility of spiritual leadership over those I have placed in your life. What must you do with those who I have placed under your spiritual leadership? I must provide spiritual leadership. I will watch over those you have placed under my care. I will involve myself in their lives. I will invest all my gifts, talents, abilities and resources to help those who under my care. I will pray for those under my care. I will provide wise counsel and give good direction. I give strong encouragement and solid support. I will do whatever is needed to help those you have placed under my care. This is my plan, others will keep watch over you as you keep watch over others. I will follow your plan I will watch over others as others watch over me. That will be very good. 

Lord, thank you for placing spiritual leaders in my life to help watch over my soul. I will obey the wise counsel and good direction you give me through my spiritual leaders. Help me to make it a joyful experience for my spiritual leaders to watch over my soul. Amen

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Be – Hebrews 13-7 – A Joy – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

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