PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( 1 Samuel 27:1 ): In this very first verse, I see David allowing fear to drive him out of his homeland and into the land of the Philistines. This may have been driven by You, Father, but with the small number of details I have in the verse it does not appear to be so. David is speaking to himself here and it does not mention him reaching out to You for guidance, so I assume he is doing this out of his fear of Saul. I have also done things out of fear in my life without consulting You first, Father. I’m not proud of it by any stretch of the imagination. I do not know what would have happened had I consulted You first before taking action, but what I do know is that I allowed myself to do things or not do things out of fear without speaking to You about it, Father. Please forgive me for this. Help me to be better in the future at reaching out to You or my spiritual brothers for further guidance on a situation instead of allowing my fear to steer me.
PROMISE ( 1 Samuel 27:12 ): Once again, I see Your promise to David still coming to fruition. You promised him that he would become the king of Israel, replacing Saul. Although his life has been in danger pretty much this entire time, he has remained faithful to You and Your promise has shown through. You have kept him safe along the way and continued to increase his strength, power, military numbers, and victories in battles.
ATTITUDE ( 1 Samuel 27:5 ): David maintains a humble attitude throughout this scripture. Here, I see him humbly asking the king of Gath, Achish, if he would bless David with a place to settle down nearby, but he says at the beginning “if I have found favor with you.” He doesn’t demand it and he doesn’t put on a display like he’s owed something by Achish. He simply asks that if the king feels it is right in his eyes, then David would like a place to call his home nearby, so that he can still do his duties as a servant to the king but at the same time not dwell within the king’s home. My prayer today is that I also continue to embrace an attitude of humility in my heart, Father. Those times that I am not displaying a humble heart, please remind me of Your ways to live my life, Father.
COMMAND ( 1 Samuel 27:1, 5 ): I actually see and hear two commands coming from You today, Father. The first one is to embrace a reverent fear of You, but nothing in this world as You have already conquered the world. The second is to embrace an attitude of humility as Jesus reflected to us when He walked on this earth as a truly humble Man of God. Help me to learn to become better at both of these commands, Father. I know I am not perfect at anything, let alone these two commands. I also know, however, that I can do better than I currently am.
EXAMPLE ( 1 Samuel 27:8-11 ): In these verses, I see a great example of what David is becoming thanks to the journey You have put him on for his path to kingship. He is becoming a strong and powerful leader with many victories under his belt. He is becoming so strong that his numbers are ever-increasing, but at the same time he is able to do so much with so little. He only has 600 men, yet he is able to completely slaughter the towns mentioned here, leaving zero enemies alive and taking all of the spoils. Is this the type of king he will become? The king who can gain victory in any battle placed in front of him? So far, I have not heard of a loss in a battle that he has led. Do I become stronger by increasing the number of men in my circle, Father? Is this how I also learn how to become a better leader in this life for Your kingdom?
*DAILY NOTE: David is becoming very powerful thanks to You, Father. His victories are seemingly endless and the favor he gains from You seems to be flowing over. I am grateful for the story of David, because I see a lot of myself in Him. I am not perfect, just like David wasn’t. I do live in my fear at times, just like David did. I do try to live a humble life the best I can, just like David did. I don’t always attain these things fully, but what I do attain is an ever-growing relationship with You, just like David did. Thank You for an amazing quiet time today, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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