March 20–1 Samuel 18-20

“If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death” (19:11).

A few years ago, in an intense chapter of illness and medical treatment, I learned a lesson. I needed to be assertive.

American medicine is amazing. I am grateful for it. It can, however, be complicated and inefficient. There can be mistakes and delays and miscommunications. Gradually, the patient learns to become his own advocate, to ask questions and get answers, to take responsibility for his own care. I had to learn to act in my own interests, sometimes when I didn’t have energy to even think, much less to be assertive.

For believers (in all aspects of life, not just medical) this can be uncomfortable. We are taught to be humble, patient. Subconsciously we believe the 11th Commandment is, “Thou shalt be nice.” Add a certain reluctance for responsibility and a bit of laziness and the outcome can be uncertainty and inaction.

In 1 Samuel 19-20, young David enters a difficult chapter of his life. In this season, a new set of skills will be required. Saul, of late, has become erratic and malicious. Abusive. Even with warnings from Jonathon, David hesitated to accept this new dangerous reality. He indulged himself in an unrealistic hope that Saul’s anger would pass. Michal, Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, verbalized the challenge. You must ACT! And do so quickly!

I have a friend who overuses (I believe) the idea that God will protect him. Faith, for this friend, is to relax and let God take care of all needs. To him, inactivity, and lack of assertiveness, equal faith. In our text today, David is unlearning such “wisdom”.

“Why are you crying out to me?” said the Lord to Moses in Exodus 14, as a menacing Egyptian army drew close. “Tell the people to go forward!” There are times (for all of us) when prayer and waiting is the right thing to do. There are also times (and David was in one of those moments) when more prayer is the wrong thing. Shrewd action is required! See Luke 16.

If “wiser than a serpent” is part of God’s assignment, there will be times when trust will look like decisive courage. Don’t be surprised if, as you view your life with honest eyes, you hear the Spirit shouting, “Think! Move! Act!”

“I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act” (G. K. Chesterton).

“In any moment of decision, the best thing to do is the right thing. The worst thing to do is nothing” (Theodore Roosevelt).

March 19–1 Samuel 15-17

In the 8th Century, Dallan Forgail wrote a poem that later became a familiar hymn. “Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.”

It is a prayer. A request for God to give us new eyes, a compelling vision of Himself, and, therefore, ourselves and our world.

David was a man of such vision. He had a vibrant inner life (a man after God’s own heart), and this inner focus and priority on God was the filter through which he saw all other things. “The eyes of the heart,” Paul calls it in Ephesians 1:18.

The soldiers of Israel SAW a giant (Goliath). David SAW someone taunting the armies of the living God. Saul SAW inexperience and danger. David SAW God’s power. “He will deliver me,” he said to the King, without wavering. Some people see thorns, some see roses.

Hearts that love God have eyes that see Him at work. Hannah (1 Samuel 2) didn’t shout of a successful pregnancy. Her song was about a gracious and powerful God. In the midst of a national emergency (Isaiah 6), Isaiah saw the Lord, high and lifted up. On the road to Damascus (Acts 9), Saul saw the Lord and realized that he had been blind.

For nearly fifty years, mornings have been “eye-opening” for me. In daily renewal, the Scripture and Spirit have helped me SEE the eternal realities. Invisible things. Real things. “Unseen things above,” says the old hymn. God. Man. Sin. Judgement. Mercy. Coming victory! All these are true, but they make little impact until we SEE them.

When you face a giant today, friend (and likely you will), what will your eyes see? When circumstances persuade you toward fear, will a clearer vision of a great God give you courage and faith?

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know the hope. . .the riches. . .the greatness of His power”(Ephesians 1:18-19).

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

March 18–1 Samuel 13-14

“You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God. . .now your kingdom shall not endure”(13:13-14).

It was no small matter. The punishment may seem excessive to us, but it wasn’t.

From the first conversations of their friendship, Samuel predicted this moment, prepared Saul for it. See the conversation in 10:7-8. When the day of liberation from the Philistines finally came, Saul was to WAIT. WAIT for Samuel. WAIT for God to tell him what to do. (Did God have in mind some spectacular victory like the Red Sea defeat of Egypt? We will never know.) By waiting, Saul was to make clear to Israel and her enemies that God was their security and success.

Saul’s excuse was that he did wait. Seven days! A reasonable standard by any human measurement. Even so, in the last hours of the last day, he yielded to his anxiety and took matters in his own hands.

It disqualified Saul. God withdrew His approval and presence. Spiritual service became impossible.

It is a good reminder. Do you have ears to hear the Spirit as He speaks through this story, dear one? Partial obedience is worse than full failure because it claims some credit, some knowledge, but never explores the power of a fully surrendered heart. What would our world be if God’s people learned to wait on the Lord and His answers?!

The old saying is still true. “The only thing harder than waiting on God is wishing you had.”

Friend, do you rush ahead? Do you avoid the secret place of prayer? Do you make decisions without the full assurance that you have the mind of Christ on the subject at hand? Are you impatient and anxious in days of suffering?

“Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait on the Lord” (David, Psalm 27:14).

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised”(Acts 1:4).

March 17–1 Samuel 9-12

“The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man”(10:6).

Saul is a puzzle and a warning. His sad story is more relevant to our lives than we usually recognize. He experienced the power of the Spirit but never preferred it. He was called and qualified for a God-given life but resisted the required steps forward. Was he changed? Yes, but never to the extent God desired to change him. Throughout his life, in his inner man, Saul was double-minded. See James 1:8.

He had every appearance of success. Handsome. Tall. Chosen by God. Successful in battle. Forty years as ruler of Israel. Many victories. Much honor. Internally, however, Saul was empty and anxious. Early in the story we see him hiding by the baggage. As he aged, these unresolved insecurities surfaced in jealousy and anxiety. Could Saul SEE the desperate condition of his own heart? Probably not.

The gifts of God to Saul were real. Called and qualified, he had a changed heart (10:9) in the sense that he genuinely experienced the work of the Spirit. Like people described in Hebrews 6, Saul, “tasted the heavenly gift and was made a partaker of the Holy Spirit.” However, after each of these significant experiences, Saul drifted back to the material world as his center and confidence. Unconverted, he never shifted (in identity or priority) from self to Spirit. His inner man remained focused on politics, personal success and the approval of people.

Friend, do you hear a warning from the Spirit in Saul’s tragic life? Like Saul, are you satisfied to clean the outside of the cup (the appearance), leaving the motivations and intents of the heart contaminated and compromised? Will you gladly receive the FILLING of the Spirit as He drives out all other loves?

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,” cried David. Saul would have benefitted by praying the same. The rest of us, as well.

“He gives us more than we request by going deeper than we ask. He wants not only your whole heart; He wants your heart whole” (Max Lucado).

“Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they did also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard”(Hebrews 4:2).

March 16–1 Samuel 4-8

“If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign god and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him alone: He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines”(7:3).

Samuel lived for God in a time of conflict. The Philistines were dominant and dangerous. Against this threat, Samuel stood with strength and courage. God is able to deliver! He calls us to be soldiers. Fearless and wise in conflict.

Samuel was unbending in his preaching. He declared true repentance as the predicate to blessing. Faith, in Israel, had decayed into a superstition. Samuel called the people back to a vibrant and real relationship with God. The true cure! When God is near, problems are not problems.

Samuel was an example. His life reminded the people of the possibilities of true godliness. “The Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel” ( 3:21). Sometimes, a whole church or nation or family can begin to hear the Lord because a single believer dares to listen and lead.

Samuel’s life displayed the power of prayer. When the Philistine forces gathered, “He cried out to the Lord. . .and the Lord answered him”(7:9). We can fight after we pray, but we dare not fight until we have prayed. Samuel’s strength was his time spent alone with God.

As a true soldier, Samuel had patience. Spiritual life is a marathon not a sprint. One enemy to face and conquer, then another. After a great victory, Samuel put up a marker (a reminder). He called it Ebenezer, “thus far hath the Lord helped us”(7:12). Presumption is prohibited. Patience is required.

Sadly, at the end of Samuel’s life, the people rejected the possibilities of life in the Spirit. His example was ignored. They opted for a secular solution, a king.

Do we the same? Do we look for easy solutions, put our trust in leaders and political parties? True freedom is available only in a vibrant relationship with God. To know this blessing, however, we must be soldiers. Unless we are willing to carry a cross, we will never understand the One who did.

“Rise up O men of God, have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength, to serve the King of Kings”(William Pierson Merrill).

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day”(Ephesians 6:12-13).

March 16–1 Samuel 4-8

“If you return to the Lord with all your heart, remove the foreign god and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your hearts to the Lord and serve Him alone: He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines”(7:3).

Samuel lived for God in a time of conflict. The Philistines were dominant and dangerous. Against this threat, Samuel stood with strength and courage. God is able to deliver! He calls us to be soldiers. Fearless and wise in conflict.

Samuel was unbending in his preaching. He declared true repentance as the predicate to blessing. Faith, in Israel, had decayed into a superstition. Samuel called the people back to a vibrant and real relationship with God. The true cure! When God is near, problems are not problems.

Samuel was an example. His life reminded the people of the possibilities of true godliness. “The Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel” ( 3:21). Sometimes, a whole church or nation or family can begin to hear the Lord because a single believer dares to listen and lead.

Samuel’s life displayed the power of prayer. When the Philistine forces gathered, “He cried out to the Lord. . .and the Lord answered him”(7:9). We can fight after we pray, but we dare not fight until we have prayed. Samuel’s strength was his time spent alone with God.

As a true soldier, Samuel had patience. Spiritual life is a marathon not a sprint. One enemy to face and conquer, then another. After a great victory, Samuel put up a marker (a reminder). He called it Ebenezer, “thus far hath the Lord helped us”(7:12). Presumption is prohibited. Patience is required.

Sadly, at the end of Samuel’s life, the people rejected the possibilities of life in the Spirit. His example was ignored. They opted for a secular solution, a king.

Do we the same? Do we look for easy solutions, put our trust in leaders and political parties? True freedom is available only in a vibrant relationship with God. To know this blessing, however, we must be soldiers. Unless we are willing to carry a cross, we will never understand the One who did.

“Rise up O men of God, have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength, to serve the King of Kings”(William Pierson Merrill).

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day”(Ephesians 6:12-13).

March 15–1 Samuel 1-3

Readers Notes: If you need a hero in this dark and defeated age, Samuel may be your man. Called and equipped by God, Samuel led the nation of Israel out of decline and into a period of spiritual and political progress. A transformational leader, Samuel influenced David and exampled for Israel the effective power of a prayerful, obedient life. God bless you, friend, as you read Samuel’s story and hear God’s call to you.

“It came about in due time, after Hannah conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I have asked him of the Lord’ “(1:20).

“God hears,” that’s what Hannah named her son (Shema el. Hebrew, shema, “to hear”, El, “God”). Samuel’s name was her testimony. It was also his! Walking faithfully in Spiritual power, he became a turning-point for Israel. A bridge between the darkness and defeat of the Judges and the light and victory of David’s kingdom.

Prayer is not easy work. In a moment of desperation, “Hannah resolved to cast upon the Lord the burden she could not bear” (Edersheim). Despite the pain of her disappointment, she poured out her heart to the Lord. Nothing retained. No privileges held back. Like Jesus in Gethsemane, she EMPTIED herself. Do not shrink back from suffering, dear one. Face it. Carry your weakness to the Lord in honest prayer.

There is great power in it! When Hannah stood from her prayer, she knew that she had been HEARD. Eli saw it on her face. “This is the confidence we have before Him, if we ask anything according to His will (both in what we ask and how we ask it), He hears us. And if we know that He hears us. . .we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (1 John 5:14-15).

Years later, while still very young, Samuel was waked in the night by the VOICE of God. The same God who hears also speaks! He calls. He communicates. He leads. “Word from the Lord was rare in those days,” says 3:1. Rare in our day, too, I fear. Samuel’s life is a lesson for us. A needed reminder and encouragement. If we will seek Him, He will be found. He will hear us. We will hear Him.

“Men and women are needed whose prayers will give to the world the utmost power of God; who will make His promises to blossom with rich and full results. God is waiting to hear us and challenges us to bring Him to do this thing by our praying” (E. M. Bounds).

“Ask and it will be given you” (Luke 11:9).

March 14–Ruth 1-4

Readers Notes: Conservative scholars believe the book of Ruth was written by Samuel in the time of Judges. As the book of Judges records the drift and decline of the nation into sin and self-rule, the book of Ruth narrates a beautiful and balancing hope. Even in our worst times, God is still graciously guiding His people forward, still calling people to discover the blessings of walking with Him by faith. Ruth’s story is a testimony of God’s redeeming love.

“Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today”(4:14).

It is a truth that only faith can see. “My Father is working,” said Jesus in John 5:17. Even in our stress and struggles, perhaps most of all in these moments, God is silently and powerfully at work. Do you believe, my friend?

The Book of Ruth shouts this story. In a time of heartbreak and loss, God was aware, present and involved in the lives of His people.

Over years and circumstances, Naomi and her family drifted from Israel and from vital faith. Step by gradual step, she became a grieved and broken woman. Despite her depression, God used her imperfect testimony to touch/inspire her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Partly for love of Naomi, partly in pursuit of the God of Israel, Ruth left her homeland and returned with Naomi to Bethlehem. Amazing Spiritual courage! Inspiring hunger for God! In many ways, this gentle Gentile woman was more spiritually aware than any of her Jewish acquaintances. God is at work!

It is a story of God-guided coincidences. Ruth happened into Boaz’ field. Boaz happened to be a close relative. He happened to hear Ruth’s story and be impressed. Like a river, the story flows forward on a Heaven-determined course. God is at work! In the end, even Naomi saw it.

God is at work in your life, too! Your sorrows and struggles are “not even worthy to be compared” to the larger and better story to which God is leading you. He is faithful to those who love Him, those whom He has called. See Romans 8:28.

Friend, do you believe this great God? Will you walk with Him, trusting Him as He reaches to you in redeeming love?

“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs His steps”(Proverbs 16:9).

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. . .He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

March 13–Judges 20-21

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes”(21:25).

Humans need to be governed. “No king” equals no ruler to check human appetite and protect the weak. No decision maker to point forward, to define the next steps of united achievement. Authority is a beneficial principle established by God. See Romans 13.

“No king” points to the dangerous human tendency of self-rule. It is the default position of fallen flesh. “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Unrestrained. Self-referenced. Each person lives “his own truth.” It is a formula for failure.

God in His kindness never leaves us ungoverned. “If you confess with your mouth, Jesus as Lord. . . You will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Jesus is LORD. Those who desire independence neither understand Christ nor freedom.

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me”(Jesus, Matthew 16:24). Self must be dethroned. Apart from this cure, chaos comes.

Friend, do you know the foolish “self” that still dwells in your life, emotions and decisions? Do you recognize the inner man who insists on being in control and always wants to be right? In what ways have you learned to say NO to him, to DENY him the opportunity to set the course of your life? Have you confessed Jesus as LORD?

“King of my life, I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be; lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow, lead me to Calvary”(Jennie Evelyn Hussey).

“The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want” (Galatians 5:17, NIV).

March 12–Judges 17-19

“In those days, there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6).

In theater, a farce is a comedy developed around absurd situations. A form of ridicule, a farce makes fun of humans and our tendency to “mess things up”.

Judges 17-19 is a farce, but without any humor. As Israel drifts from God, her “moral” decisions are anything but! Silver stolen by a son (then returned) is made into an idol by his grateful mother. How is it possible for one sentence to contain so many mistaken attitudes and actions? The same man “hires” a personal priest in his pursuit of prosperity. From theft to violence, the whole story stumbles downward in moral absurdity. Where is God’s law? Where is Israel’s reverence?

Chapter 19 is the lowest point. A concubine is offered to a gang and subsequently raped and murdered. Her body is then cut into pieces and sent to every tribe in Israel as expression of outrage! Sad. Even the outrage is immoral! Lost humanity trying to wipe things clean with a dirty cloth.

Do you ever wonder to yourself, “How did our nation get to such a low point of morality?” “What happened to us?” The people of Israel must have asked themselves the same question.

No nation (not Israel, not America) lives long or well without God. A secular society is a formula for disaster. “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became as fools”(Romans 1:21-22). Human lostness is the truest fact of history. When we substitute human wisdom for God’s truth, it becomes a farce.

Friend, are you articulating truth in this age of absurdity? Do you verbalize the conviction that nations without God are doomed to a downward spiral of irrational and immoral outcomes? Some will accuse you of intolerance. Even so, sanity can be found only in the truth of God. Speaking this truth is patriotism. Speaking it is love.