David and Saul
Take some time this weekend to read 1 Samuel 24-26. Focus primarily on the two times David spares Saul's life.
Early in David's life, Samuel prophesied he would be the next King. This prophecy happened in secret; very few people knew about it. After David defeated Goliath, the people of Israel fell in love with him. Saul became jealous of David. Saul feared that David would take his throne. He attempted to kill David multiple times.
Saul became so obsessed with killing David that David was forced to spend many years on the run in the wilderness. Saul was maniacal. In 1 Samuel 22, Saul killed 85 priests because they helped David while he was on the run.
Two times Saul is seemingly handed to David on a silver platter. In both instances, David's close friends say, "Look, God has given you the opportunity to kill Saul." It would have been easy for David to kill Saul and assume the throne. This must have been so tempting; David was tired of living life on the run. David was angry at Saul's violence, killing innocent priests. But David knew this was not God's will. David knew he had to trust God's timing.
Have you ever wanted to take matters into your own hands? Have you ever been tempted to speed things up rather than waiting on God's timing? What do you do in those situations? Would you listen to the bad advice of friends who are just telling you what you want to hear, or would you stubbornly insist on trusting God even if the circumstances are not ideal?
As you prayerfully ponder the story of David and his interaction with the evil, maniacal King Saul, ask God to speak to you about what it looks like in your life to trust His timing. Ask God to give you the strength to do the right thing, even if the right thing is the last thing you want to do.
