Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.
Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the LORD.” For Saul said to himself, “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!” But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” So when the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.
– 1 Samuel 18:10-18
Devotion
Saul tried to kill David because he was jealous of David’s success and popularity, however, David continued to comfort and protect Saul. Is it possible that people have been intimidated by your strengths? They may be jealous of your abilities and successes. This may make people attack you in some way or talk behind your back. The natural thing to do would be to strike back at them but, by following the lead of David, you can ask God for the strength to continue to love them as David continued to love Saul. In verses 15-18 we see that David remained extremely humble even when the entire nation praised him. David was successful in almost everything he tried, yet he refused to use this political capital for his own gain. David remained faithful, obedient and totally committed to God.
The Big Question
How do we act when everything seems to be going our way? Do we start to believe our own press clippings and act by our own strength? How does David’s humility impact you? How can we make sure that we don’t let popularity twist our perception of our own importance?
Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on what you’ve learned.