GOD OUR PROTECTOR
1 Samuel 19:18–24
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. Psalm 121:7
David fled after Saul made attempts on his life. He sought refuge with Samuel the Prophet, and they dwelt in Naioth in Ramah, but the whereabouts of David became known to Saul and he sent messengers to capture him. On arrival, the messengers found Samuel and other prophets praying, and could not carry out their assignment. The Spirit of God came on them and they began to prophesy, forgetting why they had come. Saul was told of what happened and sent more messengers to do his evil bidding, but the same thing occurred. The men were overshadowed by the Spirit of God and began to prophesy. Rather than Saul realising that this was God fighting to protect David, he decided to go to Ramah himself against the message God was trying to give him. On Saul’s arrival, he also began to prophesy just like the messengers he had sent. It was so intense that he stripped himself naked and prophesied all day and night. This incident gave David time to flee to another city.
As believers, God is our protector. He prevents evil occurrences from coming to us and keeps us safe from all the plots of the devil and his agents. Be confident in this, that God has promised to keep us in all our ways. He alone can cause the paths of the devil and his agents to be slippery for our sake.
Prayer
Father, I thank You for the assurance of Your protection. I trust You today and always to be my shield and protector from every danger in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Deut. 33,-Deut. 34:1-12; Luke 20:27-47, Luke 21:1-4; Psalm 49:1-20
FRIENDSHIP AND LOYALTY
1 Samuel 20:1–12
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 1 Samuel 18:1.
David and Jonathan were very good friends, even though Saul, Jonathan’s father, tried to kill David. Jonathan was willing to save David from his father’s wrath no matter the cost. Jonathan knew the actions of his father were wrong, and for that, he risked the good rapport he had with Saul, his father, to protect his dear friend. He stayed true to their friendship. He was a good friend and his loyalty was unquestionable.
Friendships and relationships are important aspects of our lives as believers. We must be deliberate about the friends we keep. Friendships that do not encourage your faith and stir you up unto good works are not worth keeping. Friends who do not watch your back for dangers and pitfalls are dangerous. Be wise in your choice of friends as a believer. Loyalty and friendships function at par. Friendships should be about loyalty and honour. Just like in David and Jonathan, we see how Jonathan was loyal to their friendship and refused to be persuaded by his father’s evil ways. He was true to his words and never betrayed David. Godly friendships and relationships should be full of loyalty and commitment. We should be trustworthy and reliable as friends, knowing that as believers, our relationship is first supernatural before natural.
Prayer
Dear Father, help me to be a true friend, loyal and committed in all good works. Help me to choose relationships according to the leading of Your Spirit in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ONE YEAR BIBLE READING
DAY 112 Joshua 1,- Josh. 2; Luke 21: 5-38; Proverbs 10;11-20
ISOLATION
1 Samuel 22:1-5
And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. Mark 1:12
To step into destiny, you must exit the cage of comfort. Comfort is a cage. For everyone who yields to God’s plan for their lives, there is always a point where they are instructed, inspired or led out of their comfort zones, and moved into a phase where familiar pacifying routines are no longer applicable. You eventually become cut off from carnal gratifying routines, and you are brought into a whole new phase called Isolation. This is a consistent pattern that could be fueled by different events in our lives. Abraham was instructed to leave his father’s house; Jesus was driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit; Joseph was sold into slavery, and David’s experience of Isolation started when he found himself in the cave of Adullam.
The time of Isolation is a period of selective engagements both in terms of relationships and activities. It is also a time of practical and tangible interactions with God; the eyes of your spirit become open to vital truths in God’s word. The phase of Isolation is vital to the birthing of destiny; it is a crucial training phase God has designed for every believer to go through. This practice of intense prayers and exclusive fellowship with the Spirit of God is meant to be a routine; the Bible records how Jesus would wake up a great while before dawn and go into Isolation for prayers.
Prayer:
Father, help me to be willing to stay away from the crowd in order to have an intense fellowship with You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ONE YEAR BIBLE READING
DAY 113 Joshua 3; -Joshua 5:1-12; Luke 22:1-38; Psalm 50;1-15
INFLUENCE OF THE SPIRIT
1 Samuel 22:1-5
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region and round about Luke 4:14
One of the ways God makes you realise that He has placed value on your life is when men begin to beckon you to serve them with your skills, talents, and/or ministry. David was still in the cave of Adullam, probably thinking he may never return to Israel, even as an ordinary citizen, when men began trooping in to pledge their allegiance to him. There was a compelling force upon the life of David which made these men come around to pledge their allegiance to him. It is worthy of note that David’s brothers were among those who came to him. Now, recall his brothers were already in King Saul’s army; they already had a career, yet, something compelled them to follow David.
This compelling force was the anointing that came upon David when Samuel poured the oil on him. It inspired the hearts of people in a favourable disposition towards David. They could feel hope when they came around him. It changed the perception of these people about David. Otherwise, how is it that David’s elder brothers, who usually disapproved of his disposition, would humbly come to demonstrate their loyalty to him? Also, note that he was not yet in the palace as king, he was still a fugitive. If this force could compel men to locate David in the cave, it can compel favours to locate you today, no matter where you are.
Prayer
Lord, I declare that Your Spirit in me will cause the favours You have released for me to locate me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ONE YEAR BIBLE READING
DAY 114 Joshua 5:13-15, -Josh. 7; Luke 22:39-62; Psalm 50;16-23
GOD’S SUPPORT SYSTEM
1 Samuel 22:1-5
And the Lord said unto Samuel, how long wilt thou mourn for Saul , seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 1 Samuel 16:1
God has a support system, and men play a vital role in this support system. One of the things God does during the Isolation Phase is to release the people who are the tangible agency of God’s support system for us. David was in the cave of Adullam when men began coming around to pledge their allegiance. It was God who had impressed on the hearts of these men to join forces with David; these were people whom God had preordained to connect with David.
By God’s design for your destiny, there are people who are meant to be a part of your team for destiny fulfilment. It is easier to identify destiny partnerships during the seasons of Isolation. God’s destiny for each man is huge –you cannot fulfil the vision alone. You need people –people whom God has prepared to be a part of your vision. Jesus started with twelve disciples; Abraham had three hundred and seventeen men; and David started with four hundred men. The plans of God for our lives need the active roles of men. When you have gone through the crucible of God’s preparation, He will send people your way who will support you in actualising your vision.
Prayer
Father, show me the right persons who are meant to be around me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ONE YEAR BIBLE READING
DAY 115 Joshua 8, –Josh 9:1-15; Luke 22:63-71,-Lk-23:1-25 Psalm 51;1-9
ISOLATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING
1Samuel 23:1-5
And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 1 Samuel 23:5.
It is worthy of note that the previous chapter described these men as destitute, discontented and indebted fellows but we see here that these same men have now built the capacity to fight and win battles. The Isolation phase is also a time-intensive, concentrated capacity-building phase. It is during this phase that skills, gifts, and talents are discovered, activated, developed and eventually deployed. We observe that throughout David’s sojourn in the wilderness, he continuously engaged in battles and raids, directly or indirectly. He was fine-tuning his ability, as well as developing the skill of his men to fight. Although they came to David in debt, distress, and discontentment, he was able to develop a practical capacity-building curriculum for these men. Through this program, these men were transformed into “David’s Mighty Men.” Men such as Eleazer, son of Dodo, who stood together with David against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled, killed the Philistines until his hand clave to the sword; Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, who slew two lion-like men of Moab. He also slew a lion in a pit on a snowy day, to note a few.
You would recall that Joseph, from childhood, could dream dreams, yet it was during his phase of Isolation in Egypt that he developed the capacity to interpret dreams. The phase of Isolation is a phase of capacity building. Use the time when you are shielded from the limelight to develop the necessary skills needed to thrive when God places you on the stage. God trains us in the secret for the outward display of His grace, love, and power.
Prayer
Lord, enlighten my understanding to embrace Your training in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ONE YEAR BIBLE READING
DAY 116 Joshua 9:16-27,- Josh, 10; Luke 23;26-56; Proverbs 10;21-30
ANTICIPATE CONFLICT EVEN IN GOD’S WILL
1 Samuel 23:1-12
Then said David, will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said they will deliver thee up. 1 Samuel 23:12
God’s will is not always the route of least resistance. We must understand that there is always a point or phase of conflict or persecution, even when we are in the perfect will of God. From the text, we observe that David was given dual confirmation to proceed before he embarked on the mission to deliver Keilah from invading enemy forces. However, right on this mission, King Saul organised his army to invade David. How could it be that someone who was sent to deliver others was presently being haunted by the enemy? It is instructive that God told David that the people of Keilah (the same people David was sent to deliver), were going to deliver him up to Saul, hence David had to leave.
Conflict, confrontations and/or persecutions do not expressly indicate God’s disapproval of our engagements, rather, they are designed to help us remain in check. David could have been considering the possibility of camping in Keilah for some time, yet perhaps that was not part of God’s plan for that mission. We must be sensitive to the scope of God’s will for our lives per season. We must also be ready to handle conflicts with the requisite strength and wisdom from God when they arise.
Prayer
Father, grant me the wisdom to handle the conflicts in my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ONE YEAR BIBLE READING
DAY 117 Joshua 11, -Josh 12; Luke 24:1-35; Psalm 51:10-19
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