Tuesday, May 16: 1Samuel 30- When in trouble to whom do you turn?.

When David was sent away from the Philistine battle, the Lord was not only saving him from the ethical dilemma of fighting his brother Israelites, God was also giving David a chance to save the families and livestock of all his men.

The Lord God sees all and from a human perspective is working many angles at one time. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise!!!

Watching David handle this crisis is a study in leadership and devotion.

David is a broken man and he weeps with his men (4). David’s ability to enter his pain and the pain of others is incredible. Joy or weeping, his men see the real David. How many of us are that vulnerable with others in our lives, especially people who work with and for us?

In his grief, David keeps his wits enough to sense the pulse of his men… their anger and the potential of an uprising.

What does David do? He turns to the Lord (7-8) and he does so publically so everyone realizes he is seeking God, his God! This action by David speaks loudly.

When David is in trouble he turns to the Lord. When I am in trouble where do I turn? This is a question each of us should ask. When we are in trouble to whom do we turn?

I am reminded of Psalm 27, which is a Psalm written by David. It will be my prayer this morning.

The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.  Psalm 27:1-4

 

Monday, May 15: 1Samuel 29- God who intervenes.

I wonder what David would have done had he engaged in the battle against Saul and the forces of Israel? We will never know because God provided a way out. The other Philistine rulers refused to have David go into battle with them, so David was sent back.

I began to think about situations that God worked out, those situations where I was concerned about something and then God smoothed the path. The Lord is a mighty God and I have so much to be thankful for… His care, His provision, His going before me.

I paused and thanked the Lord for any number of situations that came to mind where His hand brought an answer. God is so good and my heart is warming as I remember some of His mighty acts.

Then this got me wondering about how many times God intervened and I had no clue about what God did… a texting driver who looked up with just enough time to avoid hitting me, a virus God cast from my body before it could manifest into disease, and so on.

I found myself delighting in the Lord and His care for me and others I know and love. I, we, serve a mighty and great God when we serve and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above you heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost…

Oh, Lord God, I have no way of knowing where I might be if it were not for Your grace and providential care… Your hand watching over me. I am sorry for my sin and the ways I have dragged Your name through the mud by my actions. I am sorry for all the times I have been faithless and repaid Your goodness with bad behavior in return. Thank You for forgiveness and for loving me at all time. I bless You and I praise You. Through Jesus, my Lord, I pray. Amen.

 

Saturday, May 13: 1Samuel 28- Can you admit failure?.

This is such a peculiar story with many open questions. Rather than dwell on the difficult parts of the story, I found myself meditating on the story as a unit. Saul, who expelled mediums from the land, chooses to find and go to a medium in a time of crisis.

The Lord stopped speaking with Saul or answering him by way of prophet or priest. He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets (6). Instead of humbling himself, admitting guilt and seeking restoration with the Lord, Saul does what he knows God abhors.  He seeks out a medium.

Why is it so hard for some of me (us) to admit failure and sin?

In the life of Saul we can see how disastrous it can be to be so full of pride we cannot face our failures and sins!

As soon as I wrote those words above, God spun the tables on me… probing me. Why are there times when I find it difficult to admit failure and mistakes? What is it in my life that drives me, at times, to act/pretend I am perfect?

This question and others the Lord has asked me are never simple to answer. They require time with the Lord and honesty with myself…

After spending some time with the Lord… my time for closing prayer came.

Lord, recently I needed a root canal. It was not fun. The pain before and the procedure itself was no joy. But the fact that I no longer have pain in my tooth and running up to my ear is soooo good. It is freeing.

I pray that as I deal with my true self, times of probing may not be ‘fun’ but my hope and trust is that freedom and joy will result as I move closer to You and allow more of your light to shine through me. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

 

Friday, May 12: 1Samuel 27- Ruthless days.

It is hard for me to wrap my head around the life David lived. The days in which he lived are so different than my life… harsher and rougher. To provide for his men and family David spent a year raiding towns and killing everyone; men, women and children. Today we would call him a murderer and thief or possibly even a terrorist.

While the text indicated a smidge of honorableness in David’s actions: Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish (8-9). These peoples were not Israelite but ancient enemies of the Israelites; there is for me still a horror in David’s actions.

I equate David’s actions with the wildwest US military raiding parties who killed thousands of Native Americans and for that matter, Native American raiding parties who killed many settlers during those years as well.

I also struggle to think that this same David wrote so many of the magnificent Psalms. I thumbed through some of the Psalms…

Psalm 41:1-3: Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the LORD delivers them in times of trouble. The LORD protects and preserves them— they are counted among the blessed in the land— he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. The LORD sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.

And

Psalm 26:1-11: Vindicate me, LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD and have not faltered. Test me, LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.

I do not sit with the deceitful, nor do I associate with hypocrites. I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked. I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, LORD, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.

LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells. Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with those who are bloodthirsty, in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes. I lead a blameless life; deliver me and be merciful to me.

This man raided and killed unsuspecting people.

I don’t know what to do with this. I also have never fled for my life, spent years on the run from a powerful and cruel adversary all the while being responsible for the care of few thousand people (600 soldiers and all their family members) while on the run.

One thing about the Bible is that it doesn’t sugar coat its heroes, we see them in their raw humanness.

I still know integrity matters (yesterday’s lesson) and that living up to God’s laws matters. I also know some people are forced into horrible situations and have to make terrible decisions.

I just pray:

Lord, should I ever find myself in those kinds of situations I pray I will remain true to You. I pray, too, that my heart never grows hard and cold. Like David, for all his faults and humanness, he remained a man after Your own heart. May that be true of me, too… May that be true of m,e too. Amen.

 

Thursday, May 11: 1Samuel 26- Proof of integrity.

 

David makes a valiant, some might say foolish, effort to prove his integrity. He sneaks into the middle of Saul’s camp and steals Saul’s spear and jug, both positioned right by Saul as he slept.

For the second time David refuses to kill Saul, God’s anointed.

After making his escape with the king’s possessions David announces to the camp what he has done. From beginning to end this was an ‘all out’ play to prove his integrity.

Had David been caught he would have been killed on the spot as an intruder trying to harm the king. The only play that didn’t result in David’s death was the one that happened. It was a desperate gambit.

How much was his integrity worth to David?

How much is my integrity worth to me? How much is your integrity worth to you?

Is it worth paying additional taxes because you file with honesty?

Is it worth returning to the store when you are given back too much change?

Is it worth admitting to something you have done when you could have gotten away with it?

Again, how much is your integrity worth to you? 

And when we stand before the Lord and He queries how we used our life and how we shined the light of Jesus through our living, how much will a life in integrity mean then?

Lord, David was a man after your own heart. Integrity was just one life attribute that grew out of his love for and emulation of You. I pray that love for and commitment to You would blossom in a life of integrity and other God-honoring character traits in my life. I pray this through Jesus, my Savior. Amen.

 

Wednesday, May 10: 1Samuel 25- Nabal -how we should not live.

Reading the story of Nabal, I began wondering about people who are miserly and those who are generous. Clearly Nabal didn’t have to reward David and his men.  But it seems that there was some cultural convention, which dictated that given what David and his men did for the shepherds they should have been rewarded in some fashion. Nabal was miserly and he was clearly a rich miserly person. He may have spent as much on his party as it would have cost him to reward David and his men. In fact, some of the supplies Abigail sent might have been earmarked for the party, since it represents a good deal of food already prepared.

Whether it was for the party or just part of Nabal’s general supplies, it was food he had on hand and food he could spare.

In the New Testament, Jesus and Paul both laud generosity, generosity toward God and generosity in caring for the church and those in need. Nabal represents how we should not live, thinking only of self.

As is often the case the Lord begins to use the text as a mirror into my own life, causing me to consider my generosity and my miserliness. Sometimes I just don’t want to be generous… is it prudence or miserliness? This is the question of the morning. Thinking through some of the situations, I wonder if I have some situational biases… certain people, types towards whom I am prone not to be generous. Yikes, this raises the favoritism issues from James, chapter 2…

I am so filled with sin…

Lord, continue to search and probe me. Pick beneath the surface and root out sin from my life. Please, Lord, please. I desire to serve You fully.

Open my eyes to areas in my life that need to change so that I might grow in You. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Tuesday, May 9: 1Samuel 24- Doing the right and honorable thing.

His enemy was there for the taking, delivered right into his hands, and yet David, guided by principle, refused to pounce.

What set David apart from most, and particularly many of his own men, was that he was guided by principle. He would live according to the Lord’s ways and not take the easy way out. No jury would have convicted him but David knew God would not be pleased. Even the minor infraction of cutting a piece of the robe caused David to be conscience-stricken (5).

David paid attention to the still small voice of the Lord within.

Like David I have had an impulse to do something that bends the rules set by the Lord. After takings the first few steps, acting upon the impulse, my conscience speaks up, “This is not the way of the Lord.” Do I listen?

David did. But do I?

The still small voice of the Lord is there… do I listen? The Lord is pounding this question home.

We all begin to act on impulse. The question is, ‘should we follow through’?  David crept up on Saul, maybe he had thoughts of killing him. The text does not tell us of David’s internal battle as he waited and then snuck up on Saul. Whatever his intentions we know that he cut a portion of Saul’s robe… proof he could have killed him.  Even this small act set off David’s conscience.

Most certainly David had listened to his conscience –the voice of the Lord –within him before. David has cultivated listening to the Lord.

“Have I?” comes the Lord’s voice within me again?

God is pounding me on this matter this morning…

Oh, Lord, forgive me when I have not listened. Make my muscles stronger when I do listen so that I become more and more attuned to You. This is my heart’s cry… I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.