Greetings in Christ,
Have you ever met someone who thinks they cannot accomplish anything? They feel as if everyone and everything is against them. They look at other people’s success and they try to outdo other people in their effort to get ahead of the other people’s success, while all the time they are working harder and achieve nothing. They struggle at what they are trying to achieve only to fall back further in their attempts to get ahead. It is like watching a person who does know how to swim struggling in the water trying to stay afloat. The more effort they expend the more they sink.
Saul found himself in that situation looking at David’s success. Saul had been on top of the world as king, but he let the power of being king go to his head. David seemed to arrive out of nowhere and had instant success in everything he did. It started with killing Goliath. David was not a big man and by no means had any advantage over Goliath, but he went out to face Goliath with his faith in God knowing God was on his side. Saul became jealous of how David seemed to have the success Saul was seeking to gain.
Saul had been making mistakes by doing things on his own. He had let the idea of being king give him the authority to make decision on his own and expecting things to go well for him. What Saul forgot was he did not have God’s blessing on what he was doing in most of the decisions he was making. Saul was forgetting to ask God for His help and was trying to achieve favorable results on his own effort.
David on the other hand was asking God for direction and His blessing before he moved forward with any decision. David knew he was not capable to achieve anything on his own, and it was through God’s strength he could do anything. This was the secret to David’s success, and the reason for Saul’s jealousy.
Saul had been so wrapped up in his own desire to achieve success he lost sight of what he was really trying to accomplish. He left God out of his life and began to look at David’s success and became jealous of what David was accomplishing. Saul wanted the people to cheer him and pat him on the back for what he had accomplished. He wanted the fame and man’s applause instead of God’s blessing in his life.
Matthew records Jesus’ words in regard to the end of times. Jesus warns the people not to be led astray by the ones who call themselves Jesus. Those who claim to be Him will lead many astray even those who claim to be Christians. It will be easy to get caught up in the success they appear to have while they are rising in power, and many will try to emulate them in their desire to succeed. It will be a mistake to follow what seems to be success.
Paul writes to the Romans telling them to make sure they are presentable sacrifice to God. “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
David’s success was preceded by his asking God for His direction and blessing. David only acted on his decisions when God had given him His blessing to act on them. David kept himself as a living sacrifice before God which God in return strengthened him to do the things which he could not do on his own. Saul looked at it as David’s success, but David looked at it as God’s blessing on his life.
We can never go wrong when we ask God for His blessing in our decisions. It is when we act on own, we get into trouble. It does not mean God will bless all our decisions, and it is important we only act on those which God has given us His blessing. It is only when God is working in us and through us, we will have true success.
“O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him. The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the Lord. Let the sea roar and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98
Lord may we be a presentable sacrifice to You in all we do. Amen
Blessings,