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On David’s return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand. Saul said to him, ‘Whose son are you, young man?’ And David answered, ‘I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.’ When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house.Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armour, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved. The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, ‘I will pin David to the wall.’ But David eluded him twice. Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading the army. David had success in all his undertakings; for the Lord was with him. When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David; (! Samuel 17:57-18:5, 18:10-16)
I pray this finds you dear one doing well and enjoying God's blessings upon your life. I pray that today's devotional speak to your heart and needs. Let us be in a posture of worship and listening.
"And they lived happily ever after." Great ending. For fairy tales. How we wish we could tack that on to big, special events in our lives, don't we? After our wedding..."and they lived happily ever after." After the birth of our child... "and they lived happily ever after." You get the picture. How about, David killed Goliath, and he lived happily ever after? Today's passage begins the narrative about David's life after his big win. We see the general of the army taking David formally before the king, King Saul. Saul asks who David was, and David replies he is the son of Jesse, who is from Bethlehem. And as this introduction is being made, the heir to the throne, Prince Jonathan sees in David a friend that he longed for. One can only imagine growing up in royalty and in a palace; access to peers would be limited, and not everyone would be considered a peer. Keep in mind that David is about to become Jonnie's brother-in-law; for Saul promised his daughter to whoever killed the giant, and that would be David. And that would be the first of many wives for David, as was the known custom of the day. But, we also see the reality of how Jonnie may have grown up; in the household of a troubled man.
Saturday night was the night we finally got to see the movie "I Can Only Imagine" on the story behind the hit song by the same name by Bart Millard. If you have not yet seen it, I will only say that Bart grew up in the home of a troubled man, much like Saul. The Old Testament explanation was that "an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul," which is as scientific as the OT got. The thinking is that all things were created by God and so this that Saul had must have surely come from God, when in reality it must have been a personality disorder of some kind. There are demons and evil spirits, but in this case, Saul's life as king led him slowly away from God, and when one gets too far from God, one is open to all sorts of influences and temptations. Saul tries to kill David. It is finally dawning on him that this boy is going to take the throne away from him and his son. This boy also seems to be filled with the presence of God. Remember that Saul, in his good moments, made David the head of military operations, but now wants him dead. David escapes, but never enjoyed peace until that fateful day that Saul died. Suffice it to say that David did enjoy the blessings of God "in all of his undertakings; for the Lord was with him." Saul is in awe of this, but the people of Israel and Judah (these were the people of God in divided kingdoms at this point of their history) loved David.
The key to the story is that we don't all live happily ever after without the bad thrown in by life. This was the case with David and may be the case with you, dear friend. The key to David's success and true happiness, as it is to our successes and happiness, is that God is invited in, and God is given all credit and glory for what comes next in our lives. This may have been a rough week for you; unexpected challenges and worries have come to your life; take heart, we are not to be afraid nor are we supposed to give up or to give in. Stand with God as God stands with you. There is still much to do and experience and that is best done walking and trusting God. Your having taken time at this moment to read God's word, to pray and to be prayed for, means you're on the right path right now. And that, dear friend, is good news!
PRAYER: Awesome Father, thank You for the faith and life of David. Speak to our hearts at this point of our lives. You better than we know what is ahead for us and we turn it all over to You. We ask that You be gloried in our lives. May the victories coming our way be because of You. We thank You right now for that which will bless our lives. And we pray all these things in He who is Our Lord, Jesus Christ, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Tell someone that you're standing and walking with God.
Eradio Valverde
PRAYER REQUESTS: Please be in prayer for Bruce and Lisa Gindler as they have lost their oldest son, Andy who died unexpectedly at age 38. Please be in prayer for Tom Lester, Jr and testing that he is undergoing. Prayers for Rosannah Green who also is to undergo some tests today with an oncologist. And for John Lucas who received two heart stents this past week in San Antonio. He is home recovering well. Pray for one another. Please pray for yourself.
