Author: Beth Duncan

1 Samuel 20:2 Then David…went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father that he is trying to kill me?”
David knows that Jonathan loves the Lord. He also knows that he can trust Jonathan. (1 Samuel 18:1 speaks of an immediate bond between the two, a knitting together of souls, implying a bond closer than brothers.) In chapter 20, David seems to be checking himself through Jonathan, basically asking Jonathan to help him check his actions and motives—Did I do or say something to justify Saul’s behavior? Am I in the wrong here? Do I need to realign myself with God?
1 Samuel 20:3 But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes….Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”
How wonderful to have a friend you can trust, a friend who loves you enough to tell you hard truths if needed, a friend who loves God, who holds up God’s mirror of truth in your life. We all need people in our lives who love God first, whom we trust enough to ask hard questions about our actions and motives, and whom we trust enough to listen to what they have to say. 
1 Samuel 20:4 Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the example of godly friendship between David and Jonathan. Help us to seek out people in our lives who will hold up Your mirror of love and truth for us as we try to make sense of this world. Draw us closer. Amen.
1 Samuel 20:13 “But if my father intends to harm you, may the LORD deal with Jonathan, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away in peace.”
Have a blessed day.

1 Samuel 18:12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul.
David is a man after God’s own heart. It is his utmost priority. All that he does is for the LORD. He has the mindset I strive to emulate. Commentary put it this way: “I’m doing things for the LORD. I love the LORD, and my reward is from Him.” This mindset allows him to stay focused and stay humble. He doesn’t seek fame, and it doesn’t go to his head when it finds him, because he is focused on the LORD.
1 Samuel 18:13 So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns.
I don’t think that’s the default hardwire for humans. We work our butts off for ourselves, so that someone will recognize and reward our hard work. But that can lead to huge egos (if that hard work is recognized and rewarded) or bitterness and anger (if we feel we are working so hard and nobody cares or recognizes it). 
1 Samuel 18:14 In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for showing us a better way than working for ourselves for our own recognition. I want off of the worldly roller coaster of working for myself, hoping someone notices and rewards my hard work. I want a heart like David’s, a heart that loves You above all else, a heart that works for You and not for recognition or praise, a heart that understands that You see and reward those who stay focused on You—Your will, Your way, Your love and grace and mercy. Help me, Lord. Draw me closer. Amen.
1 Samuel 18:15 When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him.
Have a blessed day.

1 Samuel 17:36 “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.”
Yesterday I talked about David’s lowly position within his own family. Today, God shows how He was preparing David all along, even though it looked like David was doing menial work. David didn’t realize at the time that God was preparing him when he was tending the sheep, but God is steadfast and faithful. He knew what He was doing. As I look at my own life, I wonder if I am being diligent enough with the tasks He places before me that I will be ready when God is ready to use me.
1 Samuel 17:38-39a Then Saul dressed David in [Saul’s] own tunic…. David fastened on his sword over his tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. 
When God was ready to use David to defeat Goliath, Saul wanted to dress him in the best armor, his own. But David couldn’t be as effective in Saul’s armor because it wasn’t what he was used to. David knew that for him to be most effective, he needed to be most authentic. He had to be himself to do what God needed him to do.
1 Samuel 17:39b …“I cannot go in these…because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for Your timing. Thank You for placing me where You need me, even if I don’t quite understand. Help me to be faithful where You’ve placed me. Help me to be prepared when You call me. Help me to shine Your light. Always. Draw me closer. Amen.
1 Samuel 17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with sling in hand, approached the Philistine.
Have a blessed day.

1 Samuel 17:28a When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked….
David was not thought of very highly in his family. In chapter 16, the only reason his father mentioned his existence is because Samuel asked if there were any more sons when God rejected all the sons present. Even then, Jesse didn’t call him by name. And the fact that he was tending the sheep, a servant’s job in most families of the time, is quite telling about where David stood in his family.
1 Samuel 17:28b … “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness?…”
Even after Samuel anointed him, even after Saul chose him to play the lyre to soothe Saul when the evil spirit tormented him, he returned to the fields when he wasn’t needed. And here he is, running an errand for his dad, asking questions about the battle, and his brother is tearing him down. Again. This could have been a turning point. David could have lit into Eliab, unleashing years of anger at the way he was treated, but he was a man after God’s own heart, which means he put aside his personal anger and focused on God’s will. 
1 Samuel 17:28c “…I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came only to watch the battle.”
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. It is so easy for me to get caught up in my own emotions—anger, bitterness, fear, jealousy. But when I do, I make life about me. I want to be a woman after Your own heart, Lord. Help me to stay focused on You—Your will, Your way, Your love. Help me to put You first, always. Amen.
1 Samuel 17:29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?”
Have a blessed day.

1 Samuel 15:9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely….
Saul was given very specific directions from God through Samuel about what he was to do—utterly destroy the Amalekites, wipe out everyone and everything, but he was unwilling. He even went so far as to try to justify his disobedience as obedience, saying that what he spared was to sacrifice to the LORD.
1 Samuel 15:12 Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor….”
God knows our hearts. And Saul showed his true heart when he set up a monument in his own honor, when he tried to justify his disobedience, and when he tried to blame his disobedience on others when his justification failed. I stop short in my judgement of Saul when I realize I’ve done similar things myself to try and justify my own disobedience. Jesus, help me.
1 Samuel 15:13 When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.”
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for showing me not only my similarity to Saul (deliberate disobedience, justification and blame, building up my own honor) but also my differences (I see my disobedience. I want to turn away from my pride and realign myself fully with You). Help me, Lord. Draw me closer. Amen.
1 Samuel 15:20 “But I did obey the LORD,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the LORD assigned me….”
Have a blessed day.

1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf.  Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
I am impressed here by Jonathan’s faith and willingness to be used by God. His father and all his men are seemingly lounging under the trees, while Jonathan is willing to move to see if God wants to use him. That’s the kind of bold faith in action that I want. Jonathan wasn’t seeking fame. He wasn’t even sure God would use him at that time, but he wanted to see if God would, and He did.
1 Samuel 14:10 “But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the LORD has given them into our hands.”
So what does that kind of faith look like in my life? How can I go beyond just prayer to see if the LORD wants to use me in a particular place or situation? Goodness knows there’s plenty of unrest, plenty of strife in this world. How do I go from praying His will to actively seeking to be His hands and feet without trying to make things happen under my own power and not His?
1 Samuel 14:12 …So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.”
Lord, Thank You for this day and for this scripture. Thank You for Jonathan’s powerful example of showing up so that You could use him if it were Your will. Help me to do this in my own life, Lord—praying Your will but also actively seeking to be Your hands and feet while allowing You to work through me instead of me imposing my own will for my purposes. Help me to keep my eyes on You always. Help me to seek You always. Not my will but Yours. Not my glory but Yours. Always. Amen.
1 Samuel 14:15 Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God.
Have a blessed day

1 Samuel 13:12 “I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
Here we see Saul’s impatience, his desire to be seen in a certain light by the people, his going through the motions when it comes to God. But God doesn’t destroy him utterly. He doesn’t even remove Saul from the throne on which He placed him. Saul reigns for 20 more years, and in that time, had Saul become a man after God’s own heart, I feel certain God would have blessed him.
1 Samuel 13:13a “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you…”
One thing that I am learning in my journey through the Bible is that God isn’t looking for human perfection. He knows that’s impossible. God’s looking for people who pursue Him, who praise Him, who seek Him, who repent and realign when they mess up. That’s doable and brings me great hope.
1 Samuel 13:13b “…if you had, He would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.”
Lord, Thank You for this day and for this scripture. Thank You for showing me that You aren’t looking for the strongest, mightiest, most intelligent, or attractive. You are looking for us to seek You first and always, to put You above ourselves, to serve and not be served, to love and not judge. You aren’t asking us to be perfect. You are asking us to be imperfectly Yours, even when we stumble, even when we fail. Thank You, Lord. Amen.
1 Samuel 13:14 “But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler of His people because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”
Have a blessed day.