Monday June 8th, 2015 1 Samuel 16:14-23
And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him. (verse 23)
God no longer wanted Saul to be king of Israel, because Saul was ignoring God (1 Sam 15:11). Instead, God wanted David, who was a servant of the Lord. But Saul enjoyed the power that came from being king, and he turned away from God’s words to his own. Yet God would not leave him alone. God’s words tormented Saul and made him miserable.
How do we react when God tells us things we do not want to hear? Do we ignore God’s words of truth to us? Do we pretend that it is not God who is speaking to us but someone else? Saul did not like the words of God and so his servants called them evil, but God would not stop speaking to him.
The only comfort Saul found was in David, whose music was blessed by God. Only God can relieve the torment that comes from ignoring what God wants us to do. When God’s truth is hard to hear, we find strength to hear when we turn to God for help.
God of truth and comfort, thank you that you are always with us, even when your words are difficult to hear. Amen. — KDH
Contributed by God’s Difficult Words
God no longer wanted Saul to be king of Israel, because Saul was ignoring God (1 Sam 15:11). Instead, God wanted David, who was a servant of the Lord. But Saul enjoyed the power that came from being king, and he turned away from God's words to his own. Yet God would not leave him alone. God's words tormented Saul and made him miserable.
How do we react when God tells us things we do not want to hear? Do we ignore God's words of truth to us? Do we pretend that it is not God who is speaking to us but someone else? Saul did not like the words of God and so his servants called them evil, but God would not stop speaking to him.
The only comfort Saul found was in David, whose music was blessed by God. Only God can relieve the torment that comes from ignoring what God wants us to do. When God's truth is hard to hear, we find strength to hear when we turn to God for help.
