There's so much we can learn from the example of King Saul, and today, Pastor Ed wants us to learn from his death. Saul began his ruling life in favor with the people of Israel, and eager to follow God's plans! Along the way, however, Saul turned away from God and ran after his own agenda. Even with ample opportunity to change, Saul refused to repent! As we study the end of Saul's life today, we'll remember that while God gives ample opportunity to start over, eventually it will be too late!

At times, we may think we can get away with a little bit of sin. We justify it by partly following God, but also allowing a little bit of our own agenda to be benefited as well. Pastor Ed tells us in today's message that this is STILL considered sin! When God asks us to do something, He expects us to do it completely! God sees the future benefit of our obedience, and He always has a better plan in mind! We can trust fully in His agenda, knowing that He will take care of us and provide for us, no matter what!

Do you have times where God brings just the right person or situation in your day that makes all the difference in that moment? Through his grace, God will bring small providential happenings along our path that help us do the right thing and continue to persevere. Today, Pastor Ed reminds us that God requires obedience of us, but when we choose to walk in obedience, this places us in a position where God can bless. Trust God’s providence in your life today to lead you to obey Him.

What do we do when we suffer loss? We can either run from God, or we can submit to God and run into His presence. In Pastor Ed’s message, he shows us that David recovers from his losses by finding strength in God. In God’s presence, David experiences his trials transformed into a means of grace because God redeems them. Sometimes we need to be reminded that God hasn’t withheld His promises, but we just need to recall them. What promise is giving you strength for the journey today?

Living in unbelief causes us to do many things we’d never think we’d do. While David lives in unbelief, he resorts to destruction and deception, as we’ll learn in today’s message by Pastor Ed. David made compromises so when the enemy interacted with him, they couldn’t tell the difference between him and the world. Don’t wait until you’ve hit rock bottom to cry out to God. Take His promises, pray them, believe them! Then when you face trials, you can walk in belief and your testimony will be a light to the world.

It’s easy to walk in faith when life’s great, but what about when life gets hard? Where do we put our hope? As Pastor Ed looks at David’s response to the trials he faces, we see David viewing them through the lens of unbelief. He begins to believe the lie that Satan is whispering and compromises his decisions based on worldly wisdom. We’re prone to make these same mistakes if we choose to walk outside God’s will. Remembering God’s promises as you walk through hard times will strengthen you to walk in belief!

Sweet revenge…if anything is farther from the truth, this would be it. While in the moment, revenge might give us a false sense of satisfaction, it’s a trap that doesn’t let us move forward. In today’s message, Pastor Ed makes this clear as we continue to look at David’s continual choice to give revenge to God. David trusts God to right his wrongs for him. We can’t trust ourselves, because our own nature distorts our view. Trust God’s timing, knowing He’s looking out for you.

We don’t have to look far to see examples of people taking situations into their own hands and getting even with others. The temptation to pay others back when they’ve wronged us is so strong and if we listen to the world, we’ll be justified in doing this. We’d do best to learn from David’s example and leave the situation in God’s hands, as Pastor Ed shows us in today’s message. Revenge will poison you, so leave it to God and repay evil with good.

Wouldn’t relationships be much easier to navigate if our emotions didn’t get involved? When we focus on the response we want out of others, our expectations aren’t met and we become disappointed and hurt. Pastor Ed reminds us in today’s message that when we serve others, it needs to be fueled by a desire to please God. Then when others don’t respond the way you want, you can take your hurts to God, knowing He can handle whatever you bring Him.

How often do we let our emotions guide us instead of turning to God in prayer? Pastor Ed shows us we can learn from David’s example as he inquired of the Lord and waited for His answer. The more we understand that prayer isn’t just a one-way conversation, the more we’ll experience God’s instruction and guidance as He speaks to us. David also experienced God’s power through prayer. Be confident that through your prayers, God’s power will work in ways you can’t even see or imagine!