God's plan > My agenda

When I Had the privilege of Going to Israel this year, one of the places we visited was En Gedi. When Saul was after David, En Gedi was one of David's main hiding spots, We see En Gedi Mentioned in the bible in Psalm 57 (David fleeing from Saul) and in Psalm 63 (En Gedi is Israel's largest desert oasis). En Gedi was an extremely special place for me because I learned a lesson about trusting God’s plan in times of adversity. My bible teacher gave us a quote that I will base this devotional on today, he said: “I am not going to violate God’s plan to advance my agenda, even though I'm innocent”.

Key Scripture:

“So David and Abishai went right into Saul’s camp and found him asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground beside his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying asleep around him.“God has surely handed your enemy over to you this time!” Abishai whispered to David. “Let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won’t need to strike twice!” “No!” David said. “Don’t kill him. For who can remain innocent after attacking the LORD’s anointed one? Surely the LORD will strike Saul down someday, or he will die of old age or in battle. The LORD forbid that I should kill the one he has anointed! But take his spear and that jug of water beside his head, and then let’s get out of here!” - 1 Samuel 26: 7-11

The events of 1 Samuel 26 occur during an eventful period in Israel's history. When Saul, the first king of Israel, sees David rising in leadership, he is overcome with jealousy and fear. David, who has already been anointed by God to be the next king of Israel, finds himself in a stressful position. He and his companion Abishai arrived at Saul's camp while the king slept, defenseless, and vulnerable. For David, this represents a moment of intense temptation, a chance for him to put an end to his own suffering and claim the throne that God had promised him. But as we can see, David's response is a powerful example of his integrity.

David had numerous excuses to take advantage of this opportunity. Saul was literally hunting him down, even though David was completely innocent. He says “Why are you chasing me? What have I done? What is my crime?” (v18). We see that they had driven him from his home, and he could no longer live among the LORD’s people. but David understood that he could not compromise God's plan in order to advance his own Agenda (v19).

Despite being innocent, David refused to harm Saul. This shows us the incredible power of innocence and righteousness. We learn to be patient and to have faith in God's timing from David's story. Rushing ahead of God's plan is not the answer, even when His promises seem to be distant and we are experiencing adversity We have to remain patient and put our faith in the Lord's timing.

To conclude this Devo, the story of David in 1 Samuel 26 reminds us of that quote from earlier: "I am not going to violate God's plan to advance my agenda, even though I am innocent”. This is a timeless reminder that our personal agendas should never lead us to compromise our faith. We might have similar challenges and tests of faith in our lives. Let us declare commitment to God's plan, as David did, recognizing that doing so is the only way to experience true victory. May this story give us the strength and encouragement to face the challenges in our own lives with unwavering trust and integrity.