Daily Devotion: In God's Hands

Scripture:
1 Samuel 26

Main Verse:
1 Samuel 26: 23
The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord's anointed.

Observation:
Saul never stopped pursuing David. His heart was full of bitterness and hatred toward David because Saul knew that the Lord favored David. He wanted to kill David. This was probably painful for David. Imagine the king he regarded as father is trying to kill him, and David does not understand why Saul wanted to kill him. David, on the other hand, did not harbor ill feelings towards Saul. David still considered Saul as his king and defended him when his men encouraged him to slay him. It was the perfect opportunity once again. Saul was sleeping and his guards were also all deeply asleep. David had all the right reasons and it was the perfect moment. But David did not want to lay a finger on Saul because he is God's anointed one. And when Saul and his sons were killed by the Philistines, instead of rejoicing that he would finally reign, David mourned and asked all of Israel to mourn for the death of their king.

Application:
Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from another person's misfortune. Have you ever felt this way towards an enemy or  someone who wanted to cause you harm? You were not hoping that something bad would happen to that person, but when this person was struck by misfortune, you felt delighted. Sometimes, when someone hurts us, we ask and pray for God to avenge us. We tell the Lord that we have all the right reasons to feel bad, so when this person finally gets the "punishment" you think he so deserves, your heart rejoices. But this is one of Satan's baits. He lets us believe that our enemy deserved to suffer. When we begin to feel this way towards our enemy, let us ask God to take these thoughts away from us. Let the Lord take matters into his own hands, but don't let your emotions manipulate you. Remember that what you feel is a choice, and you have the choice to forgive your enemy. And when you find it difficult to do that, don't hesitate to ask the Lord for help. Ask the Lord to let peace rule in your heart, as we were called to peace (Colossians 3:15).

Prayer:
Lord, it is hard to be forgiving when someone especially close to you has caused you pain. But I thank you for always showing me how I can claim victory over my emotions. Thank you for letting me experience peace despite all the troubles. Create in me a clean heart, Lord, and renew a right spirit within me. May I always be at peace with everyone and may others also feel the peace that only comes from you. This I ask in Your Mighty Name. AMEN.