Welcome!
Today: When God is no longer “Lord”!
Passage: 1 Samuel 29
7 Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.” 8 “But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” (1 Sam 29, NIV 84)-emphasis added
It will be interesting to read chapters 27-30, to see the way things worked with David. David went to Achish so that he can escape Saul. Achish made him his body guard, knowing that David had made himself an enemy to Israelites, by joining the philistine side. God did not want David to be Achish’s body guard! David did all he could to keep the good impression he had with Achish; he even went to the extent of calling Achish “Lord”! Can you believe that?
8 David asked, “What wrong have I done? What evil have you found in me from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go fight your enemies, my lord and king?” (1 Sam 29, NCV)
God saw that David had put too much trust in Achish. It is okay to have people we trust, but not to get too close, than God. No one should replace God in our life!
David’s trust in Achish was his own choice, not God’s. But God kept David safe, even in the land of the enemy of Israelites, and even when he trusted in Achish!
Have you ever been in such situations where you trusted somebody and they treated you like a stranger, in the worst moment of life?
If that is you, you are not alone. That is why, it is better to trust God, than any human being. God’s mood never changes, like man’s!
That is one difference between God and man.
As we see, it was God who made Achish (and the philistines) to send David back. His family and that of others were “stolen” by Amalekites. If David had stayed with Achish too long, David would have probably lost his family for ever!
When we have to go through certain experiences we did not cherish, remember: God has a reason to allow that. He is sparing us from the worst
Certain people do another type of mistake, even as they trust God; they misappropriate/misunderstand the scriptures
I remember a news article regarding a preacher by name Mark Randall, who often played with snakes based on mark 16:17-18, died from the bite of one of them! There is a difference between picking up a snake which gets on you (like what happened to Paul in Malta –Acts 28) vs. picking a snake which was going its way. Paul did not even pick up that snake, but only shook it off!
May God and His word remain with you; be a blessing to somebody today!
BG
Prayer: Father God, thank you for being my Lord and my God. Forgive me, for trusting people than you. Thank you for all the discipline and the lessons you gave me in life, which brought me closer to you. In Jesus’ name; Amen
Misunderstanding God and His word leads to mistreating them