1 Samuel 18
Scripture1 Samuel 18:30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known.Observation - What does it say?After killing Goliath, Saul recognized that the Lord was with David and grew increasingly afraid of him. Saul attempted to pin David to the wall with his spear twice, sent David into battle with the Philistines hoping for him to be killed, and tried to give David his daughter in marriage hoping she would become a snare to him. And even after all that David remained faithful to Saul!Understanding - What does it mean?Let God dictate your character and actions, not other people. Several years ago I found myself looking around frustrated. “If only I was somewhere else things would be so much better.” “If only… then my relationship with God would be doing so much better.” “If only… then my relationship with that person would be so much better.” On a Sunday morning during worship God spoke to me, “Where you are can never be an excuse for your relationship with me.” The truth hit hard. For those of us that follow Jesus, we have the ability to not match the attitudes and atmosphere around us. We have the ability to set it! We are called to be thermostats not thermometers. And we can be, because of God’s Spirit inside us.Saul - David’s boss, king and father-in-law - had done all these horrible things to him. Yet, David didn’t turn in his resignation letter and quit serving the king. He was a mighty warrior who just killed Goliath. He could have fought back and probably killed Saul easily, but he didn't. Instead, he remained humbly surrendered to Saul. Knowing Saul was against him he still went into the throne room, picked up his harp and played. He took whatever assignment the king gave him and carried it out faithfully. What a great example to us!Regardless of how people treat us, because God is with us we can still experience favor and success if we will remain humble, faithful, surrendered and submissive. If we want to fulfill the great plans God has for our lives, we cannot allow ourselves to become bitter, complainers, angry, rude, selfish, etc. and blame it on someone else. We must let God dictate our behavior, regardless of the behavior of others.Life ApplicationWho or what is dictating my behavior? Are there situations or relationships where I’m not showing Christ-like character?
Jesus, forgive me for allowing my circumstances and the behavior of others to dictate my actions. Help me to love and serve and submit and surrender, even if I don’t think it’s deserved. Thank you for loving me even though I don’t deserve it. Amen.
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- Levi Thompson