1 Samuel 18-24

"Saul said to them, 'Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.'"

After David has defeated Goliath, Saul became jealous of him, and this is one of his many complaints to others as he has set out to kill David. Notice how many times "me" is used.

I was reminded at last night's bible study that Jesus alone is my righteousness (Seriously, how many times must I be reminded of this? I know this truth in my mind, but often I forget it in my heart...). He is my righteousness, whether I am poor, rich, young, or old. No matter what I think I may possess (good career, a large bank account, talents, etc.), it is nothing in the sight of God, when compared to the blood of Jesus.

I believe God confirmed the message I heard last night through the story of Saul's jealousy. What happened to Saul was that the presence of God had left him. And (I can attest to this in my own life) when you no longer have your eyes focused on God, you have no where to place that focus then on yourself. And when that happens, your pride completely takes over.

Saul's pride was threatened by David. He could not stand that people perceived David as being more powerful than himself. And since he has lost sight of God, he needed to make sure (by his own hands) that he remained the most powerful man in the eyes of his people. He even killed people that he thought were supporters of David (he killed the priests of Nob and destroyed the whole town). He pretty much lost his mind, and continued chasing after David, chasing after his own fear, and his own sense of worth.

I can honestly say that whenever I choose to turn my focus away from God (which is way too often...), I start chasing after things that gives me any sense of worth. I become easily threatened by other people's success (or just about anything else that they have that I don't). When we become focused on ourselves, the fear and anxiety that overtakes us are endless. We can never find any security in ourselves or in the things we possess. Yet, we so often choose to live this way.

As we were reminded last night, let's come boldly before God this day, because Jesus has died for us. He is our righteousness. He is our security. He is (if we allow him to be) our everything:)

Proverbs 1-4

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones."

I remember I used to meditate on these verses a lot when I was in high school. I was really worried about my grades, college, and future in general. Whenever I felt so overwhelmed with studying and everything that went on in my life, I relied on God by putting my faith in his word especially many verses from Proverbs. And praise God that I was able to finish high school and even college :)

Even now, when I pray for things that concern and worry me - job, my sister's family, future, etc, God always tells me to trust him. I think God is teaching me how to trust him with ALL my heart. Also, he is telling me to acknowledge and fear him. A lot of times we like to take control in our life, and it is a good feeling to have everything - finance, health, relationships, etc. - in our control and according to our plan, but that is foolish in God's eyes. The bible says his ways are higher than our ways. We can't compare our finite human ways to God's perfect, divine, sovereign will. When we start doing things with our own agenda, we may settle for second best and go through painful disciplines, because God always disciplines his children.

Let us forget about our own knowledge, resources, and abilities, but simply trust God with all our hearts. He will surely accomplish his good and perfect will through our obedience.

1 Samuel 16-17

These chapters cover the story of David and Goliath. I believe the Lord really spoke to me what I desperately needed to be reminded of this morning.

"David said to Saul, 'let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.' Saul replied, ' You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.' But David said to Saul, 'Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep form its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by it's hair, struck it and killed it. 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. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.'

David said to the Philistine, ' You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied...All those gathered will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands.'"

We talked yesterday about how both of us have lost the joy of the Lord in our lives. And this doesn't happen all of the sudden. We have allowed little complaints here and there go unnoticed and that led to even more complaints, and eventually we found ourselves feeling so burdened by this life and our situations. Complaining is a sign of our fear and lack of trust in Lord our God. We don't like to admit that, but that's what it boils down to. If we trust and know that we are in God's hands and that he will meet all our needs, we have no reason to complain about anything. Unfortunately, it is our nature to be this way.

But let's be reminded this day that we do not have to live this way, and that in God, there is the awesome power to overcome our natural ways. No situation is too big for God. David had so much confidence in God. I don't believe he was being arrogant. He trusted and knew that God was with him when he faced Goliath. He said to Saul that he has defeated lions and bears, and that Goliath is no different. I know we have experienced God's help in slaying the "lions and bears" in our lives. Yet when something bigger, like Goliath, (at least, in our eyes) comes along, we forget and doubt the power of God.

Let's remember this day that the battles in our lives is not won by our own strength but by God. And let's be reminded that any sort of complaining, no matter how harmless it may seem, can cause us to lose trust in God. We are privileged to be able to call God our Father in heaven. May we truly praise him this day and allow him to renew the joy in our lives.

Psalms 140-145

"The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy."

These verses reveal God's character. It is comforting to know that God is not only righteous but also loving. If God is only righteous, we are all condemned; however, God is also loving and forgiving. He sent Jesus Christ to save us. And he desires us to be near to him, call on him, and be saved. Here, God is telling us that he is more than willing to be our God who fulfills our desires and answers our prayers. But God cannot force us to do anything. We have to make a choice to seek him.

Let us call on him wholeheartedly this day trusting in his righteousness and love. (Yes, I need to start going to morning prayer again.)

1 Samuel 7-12

The Israelites told Samuel that they wanted a king to lead them, just like all other nations. The Lord replied to Samuel,

"Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

Samuel pretty much told the Israelites that the king will take so many things from them that they themselves "will become his slaves". And that they will eventually cry out to the Lord to be relieved from the king they wanted.

As I was praying about this passage, I believe God was reminding me of our nature to seek after things that we can see. The Israelites knew there was a God, yet after a while they would fall back to things they can see, such as idols of other gods. Now they wanted a king. Somehow I was reminded of many broken and ungodly relationships that most of us unfortunately experience in our lives. We know God exists, yet we find ourselves seeking another person to fulfill our needs. The problem occurs when that person takes the place of God. We go to that person for comfort, for support, for love, etc. And we start having expectations from that person to meet our needs. But people will always fall short of our expectations. And when that happens, the relationship falls apart. We have to remember, even though we can't see God, he alone is our comforter. In the end, we always end up realizing that God alone is our all in all. Let's recognize again this day and put the Lord our God in his rightful place in our lives.

Psalms 120-131

"I lift up my eyes to the hills -
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip -
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you -
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm -
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore."

This is one of my favorite psalms. It is very familiar to me, but every time I read it, I get so encouraged. When Jesus was on this earth, he spent most of his time with the weak, the poor, and the sick. And I am glad that he did because I can relate to them. I do not have wealth, power, or fame, and do not know anyone who does.

But I have Jesus in my life, and he is more than willing to be my help. Here, he promises me and all the believers that he will watch over us so nothing can harm us. Remembering that everything comes from God, let us pray to him about our needs this day. He will indeed meet all of our needs according to his will.