Happy Valentines Day to all of you! Make sure you tell someone special that you love them today. This is Michele with you this morning and we are moving into Chapter 19 of 1 Samuel. Please take a read and let your mind ponder what God is wanting to get across to you. He always has something valuable to say to us in his Word. God speaks to each one of us in a unique way depending on what we need to hear.
This is what I hear him saying to my heart as I read this chapter:
So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, "As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed."
Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before. (v. 6-7)
Finally, Lord, Saul came to his senses and listened to Jonathan. In the verses leading up to this, Jonathan reminded his father of all the things David had done for him and all of Isreal in the past. It appears as if Saul was able to look past himself then and remember who David really was. Jonathan seemed to have a great influence on this father.
All went well until David had yet another victory and Saul just couldn't handle it. (v.8)
But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night. (v. 9-10)
Ugh! Looks like Saul was still a very jealous man. God, why is it that we get caught up in wanting to be better than others? Maybe there's a coworker who's making a good impression on his/her boss, maybe a friend wins an award for doing something very well, or someone else gets an accolade that we think we deserve. We need to be happy for other's accomplishments and not always want ourselves to be the best. Lord, I realize that this story is quite extreme but not unheard of. I'm currently thinking of our crime rate and the amount of gang violence or just murders in general that occur in our world. A good percentage of violent crimes happen because someone has what someone else wants. Some individuals will go to any extreme to get what they want.
Heavenly Father, please make us the kind of people who will give you praise for other's accomplishments and recognize your work in their lives. Help us to support others and love them with a love that only comes from you. We want to be shining examples of your love, not jealous and self serving. The next generation needs to be taught how to love others and if Christians don't teach them they will definitely learn the ways of our fallen world. Give us, dear Lord, the desire to teach our young ones your ways. Amen
Please share your thoughts with us. Bless others if you've been blessed! Have a great one and again, Happy Valentines Day!
That's a great point you made that we should praise God for the accomplishments of others and see your hand at work there in their lives. Maybe we get jealous because we fail to recognize the blessings and work he is doing in our own lives, thinking he left us out. That is Satan's oldest trick (see Genesis 3).
ReplyDeleteIt also noteworthy that this is the second time that the Holy Spirit overcame Saul and caused him to prophesy. The first time was when he was reluctant to accept his calling to be king. This time his prophesying prevents him from killing David in a fit of jealous rage. It's important to note that God's Word is what we need to be filled with to get us past our hang-ups and choose well. Unfortunately, while Saul was speaking God's Word, he wasn't letting it into his own heart. Thanks, Michele!