Day 12 - Advance Past the Opinions of Others

1 Samuel 17:33 Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” (NASB)

I am fascinated by the dynamic between king Saul and David. The destruction of their friendship is an epic tragedy in which we see a downward spiral for Saul and a violent rise to fame for David. One minute you’re reading their story and Saul loves this kid, the next he’s hunting him down and trying to kill him. One second David is playing the harp, the next he’s dodging spears that his king just chucked at his head. The event that changed it all, it would appear, is David’s slaying of Goliath. Saul tried to talk him out of it - as you can see in today’s verse - but once he realized he couldn’t, he tried to put David in his own armor. There’s two reasons for that, I think. The first would be that he was trying to conform David to his way of fighting - something David clearly had no intentions of doing. The second would be, if David wore Saul’s armor and killed Goliath, Saul would get some glory out of it (I can hear the people now, “Well, he only killed the big man because he was wearing the king’s gear!”). David wanted nothing to do with that, and neither should we. The only armor David carried into that battle was the Lord, and that’s all we need. People may try to conform you to their ways, to their world, and God says “I’m all you need.” People may try to use you to glorify themselves, to make themselves better, but God says, “Glorify Me.” You will never advance trying to please people, you will never get ahead, never grow spiritually, never fulfill the calling God has for your life, or never see the completion of the vision God has given you for you, your family, or your area of ministry if you’re constantly worried about pleasing man and forsaking the glory of God.

Action Point: Make a list for yourself of ways you’ve let people dictate your actions. What are your triggers? Are you a people please or do you seek to glorify only God? Think about these things, and begin to pray for an action plan, for God to guide you into a life that seeks to bring glory to God.

Prayer Suggestion: Father God, you’re the only One I should be serving, give me the strength and the wisdom to know when I am pleasing others, or myself, and to be able to stop, turn around, and make sure I bring the focus back to you. For Your glory, to honor You, and to bless You. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, Amen.

- Jeff Williams, NDMen Team