PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN ( 1 Samuel 11:6 ): Unfortunately, I often fail to listen to Your Spirit which dwells inside of me, Father. I often fail to allow Your Spirit to lead the way in my life. Saul allowed Your Spirit to take control of him in this situation, which led to a great victory. Please forgive me for not living my life like Saul, Father; for not allowing Your Spirit, which dwells inside of me, to guide my way. I know that things in my life are far better off when You are leading my steps than when I try to go at it on my own, so I do not know why I struggle with this so much. Please forgive me for my controlling nature, Father. Help me to be better at relinquishing control to Your Spirit.
PROMISE ( 1 Samuel 11:6-7 ): Since these verses start out with the Spirit of God suddenly taking control of Saul in verse 6, I would think verse 7 is a promise directly from You. With Saul as Your vessel, You delivered body parts from a cut up oxen in Saul’s herd throughout the land of Israel to all the tribes. The promise was that if they do not help Saul and Samuel defeat these invaders of Jabesh-gilead, then their oxen would turn out the exact same way. Your people all helped with the victorious battle, so no more oxen were harmed.
ATTITUDE ( 1 Samuel 11:12-13 ): Saul’s attitude of forgiveness and grace are exemplified in these two verses. After Saul led Your people to a great victory over the Ammonite army, Your people wanted to slaughter the men who opposed Saul being made King of all of Israel. Saul quickly refuted this and said “no one will be executed this day, for today the Lord has provided deliverance in Israel.” Help me with my attitude of forgiveness and grace, Father, so that I do not seek revenge against those who go against me or You in this life, Father, just as Saul did in this moment.
COMMAND (1 Samuel 11:14-15 ): Just as You had commanded it in a previous chapter of 1 Samuel, Your command is now coming to fruition amongst Your people. You commanded that Saul be made king over all of Israel to appease Your people’s yearning for a physical presence of a ruler over them. They slow-rolled this for a bit due to Saul being from the smallest tribe and them having some doubts, but You used him as Your vessel to defeat these Ammonite invaders as proof that he is their rightful king and has Your blessing as such. Immediately after the battle was over, Your people, led by Saul and Samuel, officially made Saul the king of all of Israel! Although a bit of a delay, Your people finally followed Your command to make Saul king over them.
EXAMPLE ( 1 Samuel 11:12-13 ): Saul’s example here is an amazing one. Oftentimes, the flesh wants to see me seek revenge on those who have severely wronged me in some way in this life. The example Saul provides, however, shows me that revenge is never something that I should do because that is a fleshly desire and not one of the Spirit. He refused to accept Your people’s yearning for revenge against those who opposed Saul as king. Instead, he chose to change the topic to rejoicing over the victory You had just blessed them with and that led Your people to officially appointing him as their king. Help me to no longer be a revenge seeker both in real life as well as in my own mind, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: So far, Saul is turning out to be a great man of God. The example he provides to me is a great one which shows me that I must live in humility without pride and without a revengeful nature. Additionally, he shows me that I must always allow Your Spirit to guide my steps instead of my flesh, the world, or the enemy. Help me to become better at this, Father. Help me to become better at discerning the steps You want me to take, but also in actually taking the action required for those steps. Thank You for such an amazing quiet time this morning. I am truly blessed in this relationship with You.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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