1 Samuel 22:1-23
David went to Mizpeh of Moab and asked the king of Moab, "Please allow my father and mother to live with you until I know what God will do for me..." (v.22:3)
Here is the secret of David's success: whatever he had to do he first asked God for guidance. This is apparent throughout the record of his life. God appreciates it when we defer to Him, and willingly responds to our humble requests for His help.
1 Sam 23:1-29
Saul was on this side of the mountain, David and his men on the other side. David made haste to get away, for Saul and his men surrounded David and his men and were about to capture them (v.23:26). But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Come quickly! The Philistines have invaded the land!" (v.23:27). (My paraphrase).
We don't always notice when God is busy in our lives, but He is - all the time! Saul was about to capture David, but God had already set in motion the Philistine invasion which prompted the message that caused Saul to return home. It might appear that the messenger arrived 'at the last minute', but God has everything well timed.
When it seems that God is not going to rescue us we must not fall into despair, for God says: 'It will happen that before they [His people] finish praying I will respond' (Isaiah 65:24).
If you are busy doing what you know God wants you to do, then believe that His answer is on the way. He never neglects obedient servants!
John 10:1-21
'I came that they might have life, abundant life!' (v.10). (My paraphrase).
If we focus only on the financial or the physical, we might not agree that we have 'abundant' life. There is not doubt that, compared with many wealthy non-believers, believers generally do not have much by way of material good. But that is not the reason we became believers. We are believers because we accept that Jesus died to take away our sins, cleansing us so that we are eligible to live in God's heaven.
I believe that the 'abundant life' applies to life on earth and then in heaven. The cause of problems on earth is about our perceptions of what life should be made up of. If we believe that 'abundance' is about material wealth and we are poor, then we will believe that we do not have 'abundance'.
But if we think of wealth in terms of the spiritual, then having God in our lives will be more important to us than anything else in the world; we will believe we have abundant life when Almighty God lives in our hearts. Then the closer we walk with God the more we see ourselves as enjoying abundant life.
Psalm115:1-18
They that make [idols] are like them; so is every one that trusts in them (v.8).
You who fear the LORD, trust the LORD: he is their help and shield (v.11).
The psalmist gives a description of the man-made idols: they don't speak, see, hear, smell, or feel, nor are they mobile. In short, they are totally useless, unable to help in any situation. That is in stark contrast to the Lord, Who helps and protects those who trust in Him.
Who makes idols these days? Other than Islam, most non-Christian religions make what God described as 'graven images' and bow down to them (Exodus 20:4,5). However, not all idols are visible images. Some idols take the form of wrongful desires (Colossians 3:5), or attitudes such as rebellion against God, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge His right to be honoured as the Creator. Because they have rejected God and His word, He is going to reject them at the Judgment (1Samuel 15:23).
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