1 Samuel – Chapter 15

While David was coming to the summit, where God was worshiped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and dirt on his head. 2 Samuel 15:32 – David’s son Absalom in this chapter conspirers to take the throne away from his father. Under the pretense of going to worship the Lord he gathers a large group of people to help in this plan. The nation’s heart had gone to Absalom due to his years of pretending to be for them and his years of turning their hearts away from David. When David gets words of what’s happening he fled the royal city knowing that if Absalom was pushed, he’d turn the city into a warzone to accomplish his plans. Once again then in David’s life he is on the run, and in verse 32 we find him in on the Mount of Olives doing what we all should do in times like this, worshipping the Lord. Yet in times like this, when our entire life has just been flipped upside down, worship often isn’t the first response we give to the Lord. We may question God, we may doubt God, we may scream in anger at God, we may even walk away from Him. While David could have done all those things, instead he chose to find himself worshipping the Lord. Know this is a choice you can make to, and likely a choice you’ll have to make one day. For life isn’t always going to remain right-side up. We too will have life scrambled up and everything we took for granted may be gone and we’re in the same sort of situation like David. Our choice then will be to either hold all this against the Lord and turn from Him, or hold fast to our faith in the Lord and turn to Him. Don’t allow the loses in life to cause you to lose your faith in the Lord. Posture yourself in worship, even in the seasons when everything is stripped away, for the Lord is the One who will sustain you when all other things are gone from your story. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3034

1 Samuel 15 Daily DEVO Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” 1 Samuel 15:24 – We see a character flaw in Saul being identified here that caused and will continue to cause problems for Saul the rest of his life. He was consumed with the way others saw him. There was an insecurity in himself that was only resolved by getting the approval of those around him. How could he have gotten over this and saved himself from many of the mistakes he made? By finding his worth in the way God saw him rather than how people saw him. For you, if Saul’s struggle is a struggle of your’s, that message is one you need to hear as well. Trying to find your worth in the eyes of those around you will be a constant trip of failures. We’ll never meet every need and we’ll never be enough for everyone. That then will cause us to hate ourselves and lead us into doing some drastic things to win their approval. Or, you can choose to find your stamp of approval from God instead. God says you’re worth everything to Him and in Jesus you are more than enough. The approval of others is like chasing the wind, the approval of God is a gift freely given to you. Why dedicate your life to going after something you can never reach when what you really need is being handed to you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 415

And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 1 Samuel 15:20-21 – Is the voice you are obeying God’s voice or the version of God’s voice you want to obey? God laid it out clear for Saul on what to do, to devote everything of the Amalekites to destruction leaving nothing behind. Saul though did what He though was the better way to handle the directions. There’s a reason why in verse 22 God says it is better to “listen” than even the sacrifice of rams. For sure God loves our sacrifices to Him, but if they are handled in a way He never said for us to handle them, especially if the way we handle them is in conflict with His directions, He’s not honored by our sacrifice. Listen then and obey. Don’t listen then obey the version of God’s directions that fits your lifestyle best, but obey God however He speaks. This is the life that is pleasing to Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1640

And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22 – Why this message was spoken to King Saul was due to his disobedience to the Lord clear directions. God commanded Saul to utterly destroy a city, yet Saul chose to only partly obey the command for he left the best of the animals alive (proposing he did so to offer them as sacrifices to the Lord). While giving the Lord offerings and sacrifices are great, what we see in this passage is a humbling truth. God would rather have our obedience to His word than to give Him the greatest of sacrifices. Applying this to our day, God would rather you listen and obey what He says in scripture than for you to give a billion dollars to church. God would rather you love your neighbor, love your enemy, and share the Gospel than for you to give some offering to the church. Yes, God is honored by our sacrifice and offerings to the church, but when such things come in place of our obedience to the Lord, God is not honored. Before then we bring our offerings to the Lord then, can we evaluate how well we are being obedient to His Word? Let us begin to dive daily into scripture, uncovering what the Lord’s directions are for us, and begin faithfully and fully following His commands. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2892