Perceive: In this text we see the Jewish army lacking numbers of men and weapons of warfare. The Philistines had so much control that they disarmed the weak group of Hebrews and limited their ability to produce agriculture. It is impossible to imagine a more hopeless state of affairs: all the tools of warfare on one side; the Philistines have all foresight, all shrewdness, and all determination. The enemy appears triumphant; the Israelites seem filled with despair. Against such superiority, the Israelites were at a severe disadvantage. 

Practice:  The battle history of the Jews with their pagan neighbors and their foes is typical of the existing relations of the Christian and the world. It should not surprise us if Christians sharpen their plowshares at Satan’s workshops. It should not surprise us if the guidelines of commerce, if the rules of judiciousness, if the conformities of society, are dictated by a narrow, exclusive spirit of an anti-Christ. Satan seeks to disarm us with every means possible. Our battle with him is daily. Christ withstood and defeated every temptation that can befall the hearts of men. How could the Israelites hope to rout their oppressors? Only with God's help. He wanted to give Israel victory without earthly weapons so they would see real strength, His power. In the same way, He desires to give us victory in daily living by His power, by His weapons, and by His strength. 

Pray: Thank you, Lord, for providing Your ability, strength, and weaponry. Enable me to see You in every battle of every war that I face in my daily struggles.

​​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: Under the pressure of failure, Saul found it difficult to trust God’s word. He lacked having a full army, and the men who were with him were fleeing in the face of obvious danger. When his apparent time was running out, he took matters into his hands and clearly disobeyed God. He was “compelled” to perform the sacrifice because he feared that the Philistines would attack him before he had sought the Lord’s favor. Instead of trusting God he substituted a ritual in the place of real faith. Saul faced a difficult situation and made a decision that cost him the kingdom.
 
Practice:  God often uses timing and delays to test a man’s obedience. Saul made several seemingly great excuses for his partial compliance with God’s word. Like Saul, we often minimize our inaccuracies and iniquities by attempting to rationalize and spiritualize our actions because of our unique situations. There is a difference between a reason and an excuse. Most of our justifications are ways to hide our sins and excuse our disobedience. The Lord knows true motives. When we are honest about our sins, God forgives, restores, heals, and blesses.
 
Pray: Heavenly Father, help me recognize all the times I have failed to wait properly. Enable me to see my sins as You see them. 

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: Samuel gave King Saul a set of specific orders from God. He was to wait for the prophet Samuel and then offer a sacrifice at Gilgal before attacking the Philistines. If King Saul believed that the words of Samuel were directly from God, he would have waited until the prophet came to the scene. At the end of the seven-day period Samuel had not arrived, and when his men looked at the enemy, they were trembling with fear. He allowed a difficult circumstance to affect his obedience. Taking matters into his hands, he offers up the burnt offering. If Saul waited one more hour before offering the sacrifice, he would have passed his trial. Instead, he was disobedient and surrendered God’s favor.
 
Practice:  In the face of a difficult situation Saul panicked and lost all patience to wait on God. How many of us have made bad decisions due to fearful circumstances? When God commands a man to do something during a difficult situation, He expects His man to look to Him for His timing at the resolution. In stressful situations, far too many men do what is wrong to get them out of the situation, instead of patiently waiting on God. Worse yet, Saul considered his disobedient sacrifice an act of religion. It is not enough to get through one temptation well; through our whole life, we are on trial. How are you at waiting on God during hard or difficult times?
 
Pray: Lord, help me to see You and to know Your resolutions amid making planned as well as unplanned decisions.
​



This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive – In a manner indicative of previous prophets, Samuel called upon the Lord to bring thunder and rain. The LORD sent thunder and rain which would have damaged the heads of ripe grain, thereby causing grains of wheat to fall to the ground reducing the harvest. The timing and nature of this event impacted the nation, and all the people stood in awe of the Lord and Samuel's words. The people realize they are in trouble with the Lord and ask Samuel for prayer. Israel had sinned many times in the past, yet the Lord continues to be merciful and patient with their enduring misconduct. Samuel’s words indicate it is a sin not to pray for others.
 
Practice – Samuels actions demonstrate two responsibilities for all of God’s people. The first is to pray consistently for others. The apostle Paul mentions this many times in his letters (Ephesians 6:18). The second is to teach others how to walk with God (2 Timothy 2:2). While Samuel disagreed with the people, it did not stop him from praying and or teaching them. We will often disagree with other people in and out of the local church, but we shouldn’t stop praying for them. This kind of prayer includes political leaders of all parties whether you like them or not (1 Timothy 2:1-8). Are you praying for others, especially your political leaders?
 
Pray: Lord, I lift to You ______________ and ask that You impact _________ in the way they think and govern so that the laws they make reflect the truth of Your word. Convict them of their sin and expose any falsehood or unrighteousness. 

This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: In Samuel’s farewell address, he challenges the people to point out any wrongs he has personally committed during his life and times as judge of Israel. Challenging the people was a clear way for him to ensure the public to own their request for a king. It was their idea, and they will own the consequences good or bad. Wrong choices do not thwart God’s eternal purposes. He retains the power to overthrow human choices to accomplish His will and to discipline His people in the process. Humans repeatedly make wrong choices and are quick to forget the goodness of God and must live with the consequences of bad choices. Israel’s history is a reminder of the goodness of God and the need to repent for wrongdoing. Time after time God would save them from their oppressors.
 
Practice: God chose to deliver His salvation to the nation of Israel amid her sin and rebelliousness through humans and often weak leaders. Salvation is about deliverance. Today as followers of Christ, we need to remember the forgiveness of sin, and the abundance of grace poured out on us through the blood of Christ.
 
Pray: Lord, show me where I let the cares of the world often reach in and choke my revelation of Your goodness to my life and the lives of Your people.

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: Although Saul was anointed by Samuel at Ramah and publicly chosen at Mizpah, it is his defeat of the Ammonites that confirms his rule as king of Israel. Just after his selection, a group of dissenters rejected their new king. At this time some people want to put to death the first protesters, but Saul majestically intervenes and thereby averts a mob rule which spares the lives of some men who previously were outright rebellious. Instead of focusing on the maliciousness of some men who now support him, Saul rallies all the people and directs their focus on the greatness of God.
 
Practice: Take sometime today to think about your kind of Christianity. Are you someone who focuses more on your problems or more on the promises of God? The people of Israel sacrificed offerings to God as they made Saul their first king. This ceremony focused on an expression of gratitude and thanksgiving to God who was the real King. Unfortunately, their hope in a human king was a clear rejection of the Lord. Like all of us today, these people would reap what they are currently sowing.
 
Pray:  Lord, help me to lean on You today and always. Your greatness is beyond comprehension. Instill in me a desire to live and obey Your word.

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: Saul in his early role as the king has a few great moments. In this text, he is filled with God’s Spirit and exercises a righteous anger. Anger is a powerful emotion. It often drives us to act in ways that hurt other people with offensive speech or physical violence. In contrast, anger directed appropriately toward sin and the abusive mistreatment of others is not always wrong. Saul’s anger at the Amorites was justified since they were attempting to humiliate and mistreat his fellow Israelites.
 
Practice: Empathic anger is when some injustice or sinful behavior makes you angry. When you get angry, ask the Lord how you can channel the anger in a positive way to bring some biblical change. Actions taken to confront an evil situation should result in righteousness extolled, people saved, and horrible actions to end. Sometimes we have vengeful or volatile anger when someone wrongs us. The apostle Paul would later write, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,” (Ephesians 4:26). Do you handle your anger in a biblical way? If you allow your anger to get the best of you, it will hurt those around you and destroy your relationships. Holding this kind of anger bottles us up and leads to becoming bitter and resentful. Satan loves to see men angry and uses their anger to gain a toehold in their life.
 
Pray: O Lord, help me to stand up for righteousness when others are mistreated. Show me how to be Your servant when injustice is at hand.

This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: The prophet Samuel gathers the people before the Lord to present to them their new human king. In his opening comments, he reminds them that God is the real king and by demanding a human leader instead of the Lord they are in fact rejecting their true King for an earthly one. God gives them a king that looks great on the outside but is not so good and wholesome on the inside. When the Israelites assembled to select their king, Saul knew he was the chosen one yet, instead of coming forward, he hides in the cover of baggage. Even before his coronation, he displays signs of weakness and low self -esteem.
 
Practice: Two things stand out in this section. Are you rejecting God by pushing Him aside and making someone or something your priority? It is of God we are saved from calamities, not human beings. The second one is dealing with our inadequacy. Often, we hide from important responsibilities because we are afraid to fail, afraid of what others may think, and not sure exactly how to proceed. Stepping into a role that God has assigned is sometimes like Peter getting out of the boat. You won’t know what is going to happen until you take that first step. It’s time to lean on God’s provision rather than holding back because of a sense of inadequacy. Step up and step out!
 
Pray: O mighty God, help me in my inadequacies. Teach me to rely on You and faithfully step up and out wherever You lead me.

​​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: A prophet is a mediator between God and men. He is God’s spokesman relaying what he hears and sees in visions or dreams. A priest is a mediator that represents the people to God. He intercedes on the Lord’s behalf of His people. A king is a mediator of God’s judicial and executive power as he rules in the name of Jehovah. In this section of Scripture, we see Saul speaking God’s words as the Holy Spirit impacts his life. While God may tell a prophet to speak about an event, He is more concerned with a prophet instructing and inspiring the people to live in faithfulness.
 
Practice: As a Christian man, you are to act as a godly prophet by speaking the truth of Scripture to those in your sphere of influence. All God's men have the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:18), and can freely share a message of sin, salvation, wrath, and grace (1 Corinthians 15:1-2). They can expound God’s truth as revealed (2 Timothy 4:2), and desire prophetic truth through learning and grow in the Scriptures (1Corinthians 14:1). Do you spend daily time reading and listening to the Lord?
 
Pray: Lord, forgive me for all the times I have failed to speak Your word of truth. Help me to be faithful in delivering the message of hope and forgiveness as well as to warn of the consequences of rejecting who You are. You are Lord, and as reigning Lord, You offer the gift of eternal life to all who truly repent and receive You as Lord of their life. Help me speak this truth daily.

​​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com

Perceive: Samuel anoints Saul as the king of Israel. When a king took office, he was not only crowned; he was also anointed. In ancient times the coronation ceremony was the act of establishing the new king as a ruler. The anointing of oil was the religious act of making the new king God’s appointed representative to the people. The leading prophet had the blessing and responsibility to anoint the king.  Anointing oil was poured over the king’s head to symbolize the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and act as a reminder to lead the people by God’s wisdom. Israel's kings were to be subordinate to the chief prophet and his prophetic word. Saul and all the other kings after him were to derive their royal authorization secondary to the Lord's authority. But as so many leaders go, very few seek God first including Saul. Saul was commissioned, prayed over, anointed, and provided with several affirming prophecies including possession of the Holy Spirit.
 
Practice: Have you ever had someone try and take advantage of you? Someone who acts like they respect your authority and position but does not value the authority in your life? Saul was that kind of man. Ultimately, he rejected the authority of God. How about you? Do you want others to bend the rules for you? If so, you too are rejecting the authority that is over others and acting like king Saul.
 
Pray: Lord help me live a life of total surrender to you and to be a righteous servant living under your authority.

​This devotional challenge comes from The Heart of a Lion - King David of Israel and is available on Amazon.com