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
RELIGION OR RELATIONSHIP
I Samuel 7:1-10
But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29
The Israelites carried the Ark of God as they would carry an idol. God reminded them that He is the almighty. In today’s reading, we see that they decided to set their hearts right with God. The Ark of God had been returned but had not been brought to the proper place.” They realised their foolishness and in one accord, turned from their wickedness and repented. While they were having this solemn assembly, the Philistines saw it as an opportunity to attack them and supposed that they would succeed as they had previously done. The Philistines however, were in for a surprise. The Israelites had restored their relationship with God, and consequently, He rose to defend His people and discomfited their enemies.
There are many things to note here. In the previous encounter, the Ark of the Covenant which is a physical representation of the presence of God, was with them, yet they fell before their enemies. This time, they were not prepared for the battle that came, nor did they have the Ark of the Covenant present with them, yet because they had consecrated themselves to God, they were victorious. This underscores the truth yet again that our activities and deeds cannot save us. If the Lord must be our shepherd, then we must be His sheep: submitting, trusting and yielding to Him. As He rose to defend His sheep in time past, He will rise to our defense too when we are obedient to Him.
Prayer
Lord, deliver me from the deception of religion without obedience, and the pride of works without devotion in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ONE YEAR BIBLE READING
DAY 97 Deuteronomy 6, -Deut 8; Luke11:33-54; Psalm 42:1-6
THE DANGER OF FORGETFULNESS
I Samuel 8:1-9
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Hebrews 2:1
In our reading today, we see the Israelites demand a king from Samuel. From scripture, we see that their demand was tantamount to rejecting God as their King, and God told Samuel to tell them this. He even listed out what the King would do to them, yet they were adamant about their demands and God hearkened to them. Interestingly, in the preceding chapter, we see that the people earnestly repented and turned to God. How was it then that they had so quickly forgotten their devotion to God? Truth be told, while the chapters are right next to each other, there are several years tucked between them, and as is the nature of humans, the routineness of life made them forget who God was and what He had done for them.
All over the scriptures, we see a call to remember and rehearse what God has done and who we are in Him. In 2 Peter 1:13, Peter tells the church that it was his duty to stir them up by putting them in remembrance of certain truths. Paul re-echoes this in 2 Timothy 2:14, even Jesus asks us to observe the communion in remembrance of Him. Our memory verse says that the way to stay afloat and not drift from the truth that we have heard is by paying earnest heed to them. We are reminded, not just to pay heed but to pay the MORE EARNEST heed. Remembering who God is and what He has done is something that we must deliberately do lest we drift.
Prayer
Lord, cause me to stay grounded, give me the wisdom to remind myself often of who You are and what You have done. Amen.
ONE YEAR BIBLE READING
DAY 98 Deuteronomy 9,-Deut. 10; Luke 12:1-34; Psalm 42:7-11
CALLED OUT
I Samuel 8:5-9
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2
Peer pressure is as old as age itself and doesn’t spare any age group. The Israelites were God’s called-out people. Over and over again, God affirmed this throughout Scripture. He called them out from among other nations to be His people– very much unlike the rest of the world. However, in our reading today, we see them give in to the pressure to be like the people God called them out of.
In our day, the pressure ‘to belong’ has not been taken away. It even seems to be at an all-time high. However, as God called Israel His people and marked them to be different, we too have been called out and marked to be different. Israel’s request was a reflection of their values; they valued the acceptance of men over the approval of God, hence the desire to be like others. In Romans 12:2, Paul makes the appeal that we should not go into the mould the world will try to force us into. In the Amplified version, it reads, “And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes].” God does not want us to pattern our lives after the world’s value system. We are not called to be like the world. Rather, we are called to be like the Lord. If we must be like Him, then we must pattern our lives after His value system.
Prayer
Father, give us the courage to pattern our lives after You and may the dazzling sights and tempting sounds that the world offers grow dim and lose their value to us in Jesus’ name. Amen.
ONE YEAR BIBLE READING
DAY 99 Deuteronomy11,- Deut.12; Luke12;35-59;Psalm 43:1-5
GOD OUR DEFENDER
1 Samuel 17:1–10, 45–46
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Psalm 18:2
The Philistines had gathered themselves against the army of Israel with a champion, Goliath, who stood and defied them continuously for days. Everything about Goliath intimidated Israel’s army. He was a proper giant with the build of someone who had been exercising all his life; his voice sent chills through their spines; they were indeed terrified by this one man. Goliath knew his strength and abilities and bragged about it consistently for days, causing the armies of Israel to quiver in fear. They forgot they had a God who was able to defend them as He had done in time past. But thank God for David who was not moved by what he saw and heard. He did not forget the God whom he served.
David remembered how God delivered him from terrible situations and was certain God could do it again. He did not let fear into his heart; he decided to trust that God would defend and deliver them from the situation. His trust in God moved him to be used by God to bring deliverance to the children of Israel. He showed boldness and courage right in the face of danger because he had absolute trust in God’s ability to protect him. Are you faced with a life-threatening situation? Is danger lurking at your doorstep? God is saying today, “Do not fear, do not fret, I am your defender.” Stand and face that challenge head-on, knowing that the greater one lives inside of you. Open your mouth in prayer, speak to that situation and see God manifest mightily.
Prayer
Dear Father, I thank You for the assurance that You are my defender in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Deut. 28:15-68; Luke 18:1-30; Psalm 47:1-9
GUARD YOUR HEART
1 Samuel 18:1–9
Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23
David’s victory against Goliath stirred up great rejoicing among the people, and the women began singing the praises of David. In their singing, they exalted the victory of David above that of Saul, their king, which was perhaps out of the excitement for the victory. Saul, on hearing them sing, did not think of a reason why they sang in such a manner. He allowed envy and jealousy into his heart, and from that day on, his heart became sour against David, the same man who had just delivered them out of the hands of the Philistines.
Jealousy can be very subtle and deceptive and if we do not guard our hearts with God’s word, we will fall helplessly into it. There are times when we see fellow or younger believers doing well, much more than us. The tendency to be envious may be there because we feel that we are better qualified. That is just the devil trying to creep in subtly. Do not let him in, rather, rebuke such thoughts with God’s word. Let the word of God dwell in us richly as believers. The word and prayer is our response to every situation. Use it well! Speak God’s word till everything in you responds to it.
Prayer
Lord, help me to guard my heart diligently with Your word against the trap of envy in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Deut. 29,-Deut. 30:1-10; Luke 18:31-43, Luke 19:1-10; Prov. 10:1-10
CONSEQUENCES OF AN UNGUARDED HEART
1 Samuel 19:1–12
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee Psalm 119:11
The events that followed after David’s victory against Goliath caused Saul’s jealousy to be fueled. The praise of David travelled through the land and Saul sought to kill David. His envy and jealousy had grown to the point that he plotted to murder David. He had become so consumed with jealousy that it was now the driving force of his actions. Something that had never crossed his mind before now filled his entire thoughts. He had forgotten all that David did. Envy and jealousy turned into plotted murder because Saul did not check the subtle thoughts that crept into his mind.
This was the result of an unguarded heart. Subtle traits like this may show up in our character and lives but they must be shut down immediately by God’s word and not left unattended. This is because it can develop into something that we never thought was possible with us. The word of God must dwell in our hearts richly as believers so that we do not give the devil any foothold in our lives. Take out time daily and feed your mind with God’s word.
Prayer
Lord, search my heart thoroughly and let every trait that is not of You be purged completely in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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