Which King Will You Follow?

558 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 15:17 And the king went out with all the people after him, and stopped at the outskirts. 18 Then all his servants passed before him; and all the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who had followed him from Gath, passed before the king. 19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why are you also going with us? Return and remain with the king. For you are a foreigner and also an exile from your own place. 20 "In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go I know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you." 21 And Ittai answered the king and said, "As the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be." 22 So David said to Ittai, "Go, and cross over." Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over. ( 2 Sam 15:17-22) David exits the city and pauses at the outskirts to see who is leaving with him. All his servants are leaving with him as well as the Cherethites, all the Pelethites, (these men had become David's body guards or Secret Service men if you will) another 600 men who had been with him since the days when he fled to Gath, there were also some Gittites, who along with their leader Ittai, had just arrived yesterday fleeing their own country. David, gives Ittai and the Gittites an out. They don't have to follow him into the wilderness, they can stay in Jerusalem and serve Absalom. But Ittai responds in the same way Ruth responded to Naomi when faced with a similar choice. Ru 1:16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me." My friend, what will it be for you? Will you stay where you are and follow the self-appointed king (the devil) or will you be willing to enter into the harsh realities of following Jesus into the wilderness. The wilderness is a place where the true church of God is always found, totally reliant upon Him for everything! It may seem scary at first, but in the long run, it is the safest place to be. Father, grant that Ruth and Ittai like faith to those who need it today!