PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( 1 Samuel 24:5-7 ): David truly is a man after Your own heart, Father. He immediately felt remorse simply for cutting off a piece of Saul’s robe. He didn’t kill Saul, as his men wanted him to; he just cut off a portion of his robe to prove he was close to Saul for a moment without Saul knowing. I can honestly say I do not think I would have done the same. I do embrace a vengeful heart at times that I am not proud of. Please forgive me for that, Father. Help me to soften my heart to one like David’s, Father, so that I too may feel remorse for the things I consider doing. Help me to repent immediately as David did here, so that I may not continue on with any mistakes I do make.
PROMISE ( 1 Samuel 24:20 ): Even Saul is finally recognizing the great promise You made to Samuel about David. David’s future is to become a great king of Israel. Saul recognizes this promise and even acknowledges it directly to David when they met for the first time in a long time. Instead of striking David down on the spot, like he had planned on doing for so long, he instead embraces him as the future king of Israel. WOW!
ATTITUDE ( 1 Samuel 24:12 ): David’s words here to Saul give a resounding message of a God-focused and obedient heart. I know I lack in this quite a bit, Father, as is evident in my quiet times as of late. You are my God and I am Your child, but I know I need to work on my obedience. I slack quite a bit in my faith here-and-there, but You are always faithful. Continue to mold me, Father. Continue to point out things in me that I am lacking in so that I may lean on You for better understanding on how to fix these things.
COMMAND ( 1 Samuel 24:4 ): The command from God is that He will hand Saul over to David so that he can do to him whatever he desires. That is a very open-ended command, but I now understand why. David had to make a choice here just like I have to make a choice for everything every day. Do I give into an evil way or do I approach this life Your way. David chose to show grace to Saul in that moment by sparing his life, even though Saul likely would not have done the same for him in that moment. David chose to exemplify Your amazing love and grace in that moment instead of living in the world’s way by killing the king and using that as his steppingstone to then become king of Israel. He following Your command fully and did what he desired in that moment, which was aligned with what You desired of him in that moment even though You did not blatantly mention it.
EXAMPLE ( 1 Samuel 24:5-7, 20-22 ): David not only spared Saul in this moment where he could have easily killed Saul, but then Saul’s heart also changed as a result and Saul embraced David once again without killing David. It’s amazing how hearts can change when You are the focus of our lives, even hearts as filled with hatred as Saul’s was. David’s simple act turned Saul’s heart away from being filled with hatred towards David and they both lived to speak another day as a result of a simple act that David did.
*DAILY NOTE: You keep revealing so much to me, Father, even though I have not been as obedient as You would prefer me to be. I have not been doing my quiet times every day, which I feel bad for. I think about You every day and I pray every day, but I fail to dig into my relationship with You fully. I do want to have a heart like David’s one day, but I do not know if I’ll ever be able to achieve that. David was able to fight off the enemy’s suggestions of killing Saul and in doing so was able to begin the mending of the relationship. He was only able to do this because of his relationship with You. Continue Your great works in me, Father, so that I too can begin to develop my heart in one of true obedience, understanding, grace, and love. Thank You for another great testimony about David’s journey, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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