Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: 1 Samuel
Losing Sight of Christ

Losing Sight of Christ

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Losing Sight of Christ

And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”  Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

I Samuel 27:1-2

Sustained pressure upon us, often brings us to the breaking point. David was there. As an innocent man, hounded up and down the countryside by his father-in-law, the king, David, finally hit his breaking point. In a de facto way, he lost his sight of Christ. When we lose sight of Christ, several things happen. We cease to practically live as if God is truly Sovereign. Because we do, we resort to behavior in which we, in more spiritual moments, would not engage. David left the country and began to work as a mercenary for Achish, one of the lords of the Philistines. Because he was raiding in places that would have been politically sensitive, he went out of his way to leave no survivors as witnesses. When Achish asked him what he had been doing, he deliberately misled him. When we lose our sight of Christ, we end up in places we should not be, doing things we should not do. This may last for a good while. The problem is that there are Inevitable consequences of the choices we make. David would suffer the effects of those choices. None of us are exempt from such failings. Under the right kind of pressure, we may all crack very easily. Today, let us seek the Lord’s Face, that He will evermore enable us to look to Christ. Let us pray that He will enable us to continually have a clear sight of Him, that we not fall into the depths of darkness that comes with losing sight of Him.

Our Great and Gracious God,
we praise You, that You are there, even when we lose sight of You.
Evermore give unto us, a greater sight of Christ,
and by that, uplift our souls.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Grace in the Face of Hatred

Grace in the Face of Hatred

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Grace in the Face of Hatred

And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him.

I Samuel 18:14

As we continue to consider how God worked in the life of David, to conform him into the Image of Christ, we come today to dwell upon David’s relationship with Saul, the King. As David’s star was rising, Saul’s was beginning to wane. After David defeated Goliath, ‘…the women sang as they danced, and said: “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul eyed David from that day forward. And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul’s hand. And Saul cast the spear, for he said, “I will pin David to the wall!” But David escaped his presence twice.’  In the behavior of David, in the face of these adversities, we behold great likeness to Christ. David was gracious, did not retaliate, or demonstrate any ill-will towards Saul. This is not natural behavior. It can only be wrought by the Spirit of God. Mere human nature cannot withstand such mistreatment without resorting to rendering evil for evil, and hatred for hatred. Here we behold the work of God in the life of David to conform him to the Image of Christ. So God does with us. We may also find opposition from wicked people. They may be in positions of authority. They may seek to do us harm, on many occasions and at many levels. Only Christ can bear us up under such adversity. Only His Holy Spirit can sanctify us so that we do not resort to unChristlike behavior. Today, let us rest in Christ, and look to Christ to lift us up above our adversaries. May He enable us to show grace in the face of hatred; love in the presence of venom; and joy in the midst of unrest.

Our Gracious and Loving God,
we praise You that You show us the way;
that Christ is our Great Example,
to show us Grace and Wisdom in the face of hatred.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Despondency and Bad Decisions

Despondency and Bad Decisions

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Despondency and Bad Decisions

And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul.  There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel.  So I shall escape out of his hand.”
1 Samuel 27:1

Our hearts go out to David.  We observe his history from the advantage of seeing how God finally enthroned him and blessed.  But David as we see him at the beginning of Chapter 27 of Samuel is at a low point.  The constant strains of the fugitive life, the wrongful hatred of Saul, the company of wild, disaffected men of unspiritual character all combined to drive him to despondency.  No less should we remember his separation from home, family, and the long time that these conditions had existed. As well, David could see no end to the current state of affairs.  We sympathize with him but cannot condone or agree with the decision he makes in the verse for today.  His decision should serve for us as a lesson that when we make decisions in despondency, because they are not spiritual ones, we can expect that they will cause us trouble.

It was so with David.  David made his decision on the basis of his feelings.  What he decided was by virtue of what he had “said in his heart.”  Be careful of the state of your heart.  Emotions come and go, and have, at times, very little to do with the facts of the case.  David made his decision without regard to either the history of his own situation, which proved that God was safeguarding him, or the promises of God, which guaranteed that he would one day be king.  Remember, Child of God, what your father has done for you already and remember what he has promised you.

David also made his decision without consulting God.  Three times he mentions himself, using the pronoun “I”, but never does he refer to God, His will, or His Word.  Whereas on other occasions David consulted God, on this occasion he merely decided on the basis of what seemed to him to be the best course.  Do not attempt to make your decisions on the basis of what seems like a good idea at a depressed time.  David’s decision got him into trouble immediately and in the long term.  The rest of the chapter shows him allying himself with the enemies of God’s people, engaging in blood shed and having to lie to hide his deeds.  The 29th and 30th chapters are the result of this bad decision.  Before you make some bad decision in a state of despondency, stop, consider; what has God done for you?  What has He promised you? What is His will for you?

Our Saviour and Our Lord,
deliver us from making foolish decisions.
Enable us to look upward
and not inward.

 

Where the Bush is Burning

Tomm Tice

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