Wednesday Thought – February 17, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“When David made his escape, he went to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. Word came to Saul:  ‘David is in Naioth at Ramah’; so he sent men to capture him. When they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied. Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied.” (1 Samuel 19:18-21)

David had done nothing to harm Saul and had remained loyal to him, yet Saul sought to kill him. David made his way to Samuel to seek guidance. When Saul found out where David was hiding he sent his men there with instructions to kill David. Three times Saul sent men and all three times the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul’s men and they were stopped from killing David. Saul himself then came to where David was and the same thing happened to him. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul and he began prophesying and was unable to kill David.

David did not recruit an army to fight Saul to protect himself. He could have done that. Under David’s leadership the army had won great battles against the Philistines. There would have been many men willing to follow David against a king they knew was wrong. David did not seek protection in that way.

David did not become a traitor to Israel and go to their enemies. It would have been a great victory for the Philistines to have David come to their side. Perhaps they would have allowed David to join them in the fight to overthrow Saul. David did not seek such protection.

David sought protection in an unlikely place. He sought protection from Samuel, the prophet of God. The only protection Samuel had to offer to David was the Lord. It was the Lord who provided the protection David needed.

Where do you turn in times of trouble? Do you turn to places of human help or do you turn to the Lord? David turned to the Lord and found what he needed. So will we!

His, by Grace, Steve