“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..” - Proverbs 3:5 (NIV).
A tragedy has been described as an event that results in great distress. What often is seen as a tragedy is where something that was apparently cruising normally is beset with devastating circumstances, resulting into certain loss. King Saul’s life is seen as a tragedy because it began on a high only to end up in a tragic low, with him taking his life, along with three of his sons (I Samuel 31:6). How did this tragedy happen?
Saul almost came out of nowhere to be appointed King of the Israelites. When Samuel first revealed to Saul the anointing over him, he was skeptical, “ Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? (I Samuel 9:21). On the day of his crowning he was nowhere to be seen. “And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.” They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people” (II Samuel 10:22-24). Its quite clear Saul came from far.
But once he settled on the throne Saul overtime lost sense of how far he had come from. He started not listening to God but followed his own ambitions. “Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions” (I Samuel 15:10).
Had Saul not lost sense how far he had come, much can be said that he would never have lost his senses that one point he sought mediums- “Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” “There is one in Endor,” they said” (I Samuel 28:7). The tragedy of Saul was one who became so big that the God who made him be, was now second place. His life that had begun so heroically ended up as one tragedy.
What we pick from all this is that any of us could start out so well, only to lose focus and start looking to other powers. Instead of going back to the Lord who has made us; we rely on our strength or something else other than the mighty God. Saul lost humility, puffed up his wings, only to lose the crown to someone whose heart was truly after God- King David.
Prayer for today: Lord father in heaven, maker of heaven and earth, today I pray that my heart is truly centered on you, and I may not lose sense of how far you have brought me, this I pray in Jesus’s name.
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17/05/2024 - 18/05/2024 All day“And I in righteousness I shall see your face; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with seeing your likeness” (Psalm 17:15)
One of the defining aspects we see in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ is that He began the day with prayer. “Very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). As he was always surrounded by crowds and after such a busy day before of preaching and engaging the Pharisees in debates this must have been a therapeutic moment for Christ when he would have some good time to himself.
But there was also more. For Jesus being away in a secluded place would also mean a chance to pour out His heart to God, meditate in quietness, plan for the day ahead and listen to the Father. Jesus must have looked up to this moment every day knowing its benefits. Conversations with His Father must have been real and intimate, bringing a certain soothing and uplifting of His spirit. You do not wake up and stick to something on a daily basis that is a drag – this must have been his best time of the day!
Martin Luther the leader of the protestant reformation is reputed to once have said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” Here is the point. In the olden days before the arrival of locomotive transport those who were setting out for a long journey on foot had to start early with the first cock crow before the punishing sun came out. One of the things they had to start with also was a good meal, which was fuel needed to give them energy through the long walk to their destiny.
There are no rules about waking up to pray as first thing- or even saying prayer at a defined hour of the day. God is everywhere and ever with us. He is accessible at any time of the day. But there is something special about prioritizing our lives that the first thing we do is to talk to God. Just like the early traveller we need fuel, for the long day ahead!
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, what a joy and privilege to make time at the start of any day, talk and hear from you, for the power I need through the day, this I pray in Jesus’ name!
