There is a spiritual realm that is just as real as the physical world around us. Though the spiritual is nearly always unseen, that does not make it any less real. When we attempt to connect with or control the spiritual realm in an extra-biblical way, or an unbiblical way we dabble in occultist practices and open the door to demonic…no matter how “innocent” or “helpful” it may seem. Saul has consistently chosen rebellion against God and has ignored God’s many gracious attempts at giving him direction. Now that Saul finds himself in a situation beyond his control, he reaches out for God only to find that he has distanced himself too far from the Lord. God is not speaking to Saul, and so in his desperation he adds more evil to his rebellion and seeks the help of a medium. God overrides the medium’s occultist practices and gives Saul the message he hoped to never hear. Even in all of this, God was chasing after Saul with the heart of a gracious and loving father. This was Saul’s final opportunity to choose the path of humble repentance and he squandered it in foolishness. We never know when our last day will be, so today is always the right day to choose repentance.

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1 Samuel 28

Entertaining a faithless thought will lead you to rationalize living in sin. David is in a very difficult situation and time in life that has been dragging on for days, and months, and years, and possibly decades. The constant pressure on David has brought him to the point of despair and this is when a faithless thought does more than float through his mind, it takes control. As David resigns himself to this faithless thought it drags him deeper into depraved thinking and depraved action. A right relationship with God requires faith, and if we will not believe in the character and nature of God then we cannot have a good relationship with Him. A faithless thought is actually doubting God’s character, assigning Him a false nature and then judging Him as untrustworthy because of that false belief. A faithless thought is a dangerous thought.

1 Samuel 27

Many times the same situation provides both a test of our faith and a temptation against our faith. God will test your faith to prove your character while Satan will tempt your faith to destroy your character. David is facing yet another time when Saul is hunting him down, only this time the scenario is like a repeat of a couple of previous times. The same people betray David again, Saul amasses the same 3,000-man elite fighting force, and David has an opportunity to secretly assassinate Saul. Times like these have tremendous potential, either to develop our faith or destroy it. The choice is ours as to whether or not we will submit to the refining process of the Lord as He turns up the heat in our lives. Daivd’s meekness and mercy point us to the Greater than David, the Son of David, King Jesus who provides the most incredible meekness and mercy imaginable. Jesus willingly goes to the cross, choosing the way of sacrifice over the way of self-preservation, and by this purchases our salvation through His blood. What an incredible God who will go to such great lengths to seek and save the lost. Will you be found by Jesus and no longer be lost?

1 Samuel 26

When you trust God to take care of it, you also trust Him to take care of you. God’s call to His people is that we choose to leave vengeance to Him. His timing, His way, and His measurement are always right and always appropriate. As David is on his way to execute revenge on Nabal for his insulting words and underhanded business dealing, he is met by a caravan of supplies being brought by a beautiful, wealthy, powerful woman. Abigail masterfully appeals to David and keeps him from answering Nabal’s sin with more sin. God restrains David’s hand through Abigail and takes care of his problem with Nabal. When you can believe that God is present, He is involved, He is capable, and He is trustworthy then you can walk by faith and give Him room to take care of it. When you trust God to take care of it, you also trust Him to take care of you. Jesus is calling you to trust in Him, will you?

1 Samuel 25:23-44

If we are not careful, our strengths can become the things that sabotage what God made us for. Oswald Chambers said it this way, "An unguarded strength is a double weakness." There are times when the very thing we are strong in becomes a liability instead of an area power. David finds himself in a position where a fool of a man takes advantage of him, insults and ridicules him, and refuses to pay him for services rendered. While David is right to be angry about this, he goes too far and plans a murderous massacre of every male associated with Nabal whether they are family, servants, or staff. The miraculous mercy that David shows Saul in chapter 24 is being thrown away by an overreaction of murderous intent in chapter 25. Past victories are no guarantee of future successes. We are not able to make all of the right moves all of the time. We need Jesus more today than we ever have before, and grasping this truth is what causes us to move forward in submitted victory. 

1 Samuel 25:1-22

The world is filled with so much evil that we can become numb to it or even fall to a fatalist mentality. Instead of allowing evil to prevail, we have direction from God’s word on what to do. Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” David is tempted to end his suffering and the suffering of his men with one fatal blow to an unsuspecting Saul. Yet David chooses the road of humility, love, and faith. This road is much more difficult and much less traveled, and as David continues down this road he finds that he is confronted with his own need for repentance. How can we know if we have gone further than feeling bad? How can we know if we have David’s heart or if we have Saul’s heart? It all comes down to whether or not we allow evil to overcome us, or if we overcome evil with good.

1 Samuel 24

The best spiritual guard for you and me is to remain perpetually in God's will, because we have no idea when the enemy's attack is going to come. If you are perpetually in God's will then it won't matter when the enemy attacks, or how the enemy comes, you'll be able to withstand it by the grace of God. While David is trying to obey God's command for him to stay in Judah, he is also trying his best to avoid conflict with Saul. This proves to be difficult because Saul is literally hunting David down every day. God intervenes in 2 incredible ways by sending Jonathan to be a source of encouragement and strengthening, as well as interrupting Saul in a critical moment. You don't need to be cleaver, you just need to be blessed by God. When we live in submission and obedience to God, we position ourselves to receive His blessings. 

1 Samuel 23:14-29

Should I stay? Should I go? For Christians this question is typically part of a larger question that we ask, “What is God’s will?” Hearing God’s voice has more to do with your heart than with your ears. So if you want to know what God’s will is, then you will need to consider what is happening within you more than what is happening around you. David and his men seek out the will of God and choose to follow it, while Saul assumes he knows God’s will and tries to create it. The stark contrast between David and Saul continues to grow, and it reveals the hearts of these two leaders. Through this section 6 distinguishing marks of discerning God’s will are revealed. David contributes to this list in a number of positive examples, while Saul displays the negative side or the consequences. The number one thing to know about God’s will is that none of these principle matter if your relationship with Him is not made right. Only when Jesus is your God, Lord, and Savior will you have access to knowing God’s will in other areas.

1 Samuel 23:1-13

When you move toward responsibility you move toward God’s plan for your life. Your God given, God designed purpose is linked to how ready and willing you are to step into responsibility. Taking responsibility is one of the greatest ways to serve others…in fact it is exactly what Jesus did for you and me when He took responsibility for our sin on His cross. The idea of stepping into responsibility is a key component to good leadership, and in 1 Samuel 22 there is a clear contrast between David and Saul as David takes responsibility while Saul hands out blame. David’s willingness to take extreme ownership points us to the captain of our salvation, Jesus. He is the greatest leader who calls to us with the message to stay with Him, not to fear, and with Him we are safe. Will you trust Jesus to lead you?

1 Samuel 22

David is on a bleak road, and one of the great temptations that we face in times like these, is to abandon the Lord’s way in favor of our own way. David’s heart and mind are flooded with many emotions, and one of the most powerful is fear. This puts David in a dangerous and vulnerable position for spiritual attack, and makes him more susceptible to temptation into sin. When you allow fear to drive it will take you down the wrong roads. Many people misunderstand the relationship between fear and faith, thinking that where one is present the other is not. The truth is that both can simultaneously be present within you, but only one of them can be in control. Fear does not replace faith, it gets you to put your faith in the wrong places. And yet, through all of this, God’s grace remains greater still as He rescues David and draws him back into fellowship and faith.

1 Samuel 21

Following the Lord His way, will probably not be your way, but it is the right way. David and Jonathan share an amazing friendship and they have big dreams and visions about what the future holds. When David is king and Jonathan is by his side, how will the kingdom look? What will they accomplish together? How will their families grow together? There is just one problem, Saul seems bent on murdering David, and that fact is forcing these men to part ways. David and Jonathan devise a plan to test the waters of Saul’s true intentions and when it is found that Saul will not relent in murdering David, he must live on the run in exile. Nothing is ever wasted by God. You might see it as a waste because it did not go the way you hoped, or expected. But to God, even that great hardship in your life is useful for His purposes. These moments are times when we must yield control to Jesus and allow Him to direct our steps.

1 Samuel 20

Sometimes God takes you down rough detours that hurt, but in the process He is at work in ways that can’t see yet. David is on the road to the throne, but God is taking him on a long hard detour. Though David will probably want to quit many times, God gives him the fortitude and perseverance to keep going. Saul attempts to murder David 6 separate times in chapter 19, twice personally and 4 times through groups of assassins. Though this is very hard, God is still at work in David’s life, even through this. Coming to the end of yourself where you exalt and glorify Jesus is far more important than your comforts and pleasures. The question is whether or not you are willing to trust Jesus with your life.

1 Samuel 19:11-24

Authority can demand obedience, but it cannot dictate right and wrong. Saul has taken his hatred of David to a whole new level by declaring him to be an enemy of the state. Jonathan refuses to obey evil, and displays how standing for right and against wrong takes supernatural conviction and courage. Right and wrong are not arbitrary concepts, nor are they dictated by culture. Morality stands above our feelings and desires because it is connected to the very nature of God. Our ability to recognize the difference between right and wrong, and to have the power to overcome wrong and walk in what is right comes directly from faith in Jesus. Jesus’s blood alone cleanses our sin, redeems our souls, renews our minds, and empowers our holiness. Will you trust in Jesus?

1 Samuel 19:1-10

When God is for you, it doesn’t matter who is against you. David is living out the principle that we find in Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” This did not mean that David would never experience anyone coming against him or counting him as their enemy. Instead, it is a call to confident assurance in the Lord that no matter who counts you as their enemy, their plotting, scheming, and planning cannot derail or destroy the plans of God. David is completely naive to Saul’s entire plot. The reason he cannot see the plot unfolding is not because of stupidity, it is because of humility. The secret to David’s success is humble faith in the Lord, and this faith is revealed in his love for Saul, his desire to be honorable, and his refusal to allow the attitudes of entitlement or suspicion to dominate his heart and mind. When you set out to honor God, it will not make everyone happy. The way you fight these battles is not through scheming and deceiving…but instead through humility and faith. Will you submit to Jesus as Lord, God, Savior and King? That is who He truly is.

1 Samuel 18:17-30

Not everything that is considered "wisdom" is something that is from God. There is a wisdom from below, and a wisdom from above, and the first 16 verses of chapter 18 display these types of wisdom perfectly. David has just defeated Goliath...so now what? This moment set David in a position of fame and prominence among the people of Israel for the rest of his life, but God did not open the door of opportunity for him to take the throne just yet. As David and Saul talk, something happens within the heart of Jonathan, God reveals to Jonathan that David will be the next king of Israel and he willfully and joyfully yields to God's choice. As David faithfully follows the Lord and doesn't seek his own glory, God establishes him more and more among the people. Meanwhile, envy and selfish ambition drive Saul mad. The greatest wisdom we could ever recognize and submit to is the Lordship of Jesus...both for initial salvation, as well as continuing through everyday life. 

1 Samuel 18:1-16

The teaching and preaching ministry of Pastor Cody King and Redemption Calvary, a Calvary Chapel church in Commerce City Colorado.

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Redemption Calvary Podcast

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