3 YOU WILL KEEP IN PERFECT PEACE
THOSE WHOSE MINDS ARE STEADFAST,
BECAUSE THEY TRUST IN YOU.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26
NB – PEACE BEGINS ON THE INSIDE AND FLOWS OUTWARD!
Saul plotted and schemed against David to take his life by the hand of the Philistines, Israel’s sworn enemy. He appeared to want to bless David by allowing him to take his daughter as his wife, but all the time he was trying to have him murdered by Israel’s enemies. Saul offered David his older daughter Merab to be his wife if he would, ‘fight the battles of the Lord’. Saul used a religious ploy to entice David and often the enemy will use something that seems righteous to try to draw us into a trap. However, David refused the offer.
20 Now Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 21 “I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.” 1 Samuel 18
Saul still saw David as the main threat to his kingdom and he persisted in his scheme to have the Philistines kill him. He used his servants to persuade David to go and kill more Philistines as the bridal price for his daughter, Michal. We need discernment to know who is speaking to us, are they speaking of themselves or in this case, is someone or something else targeting us.
David did agree to Saul’s terms to have Michal as his wife, he killed two hundred Philistines, double the number Saul had asked for. Saul gave Michal to David for his wife, but he became even more unsettled by David’s presence.
28 When Saul realised that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. 1 Samuel 18
The Lord was with David and He protected him in every situation and though Saul plotted and schemed he couldn’t touch David’s life. (The devil had asked to test Job severely and God allowed this for a season, but forbade him to take Job’s life and he had to comply)
What about your own life, have people been constantly fighting with you? Is the enemy using disagreements with others to harass and keep you off balance. Constant friction can be an indication of the enemy targeting us, but we can and should declare peace in our lives. An older believer I knew once prayed that the lion’s mouth (the devil) would be shut. It’s not God’s intention that we be under continual attack, so take a stand and declare, ‘The Peace of God to Rule and Reign in your life today, no more fighting in Jesus Name’. Amen
May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.