God's purposes never fail. There's much God allows in this world that he doesn't endorse. His eternal purposes, however, never fail. God sent Saul a harmful spirit--something like depression--to orchestrate a chain of events that led to the future...

We base our judgment on what we see but God bases his evaluation on our motives. Our actions matter but our motives matter more. Why do we do what we do? Some things are always wrong. Others appear harmless until we recognize the reasons for our...

God's heart breaks when we reject his love and leadership. God grieved his choice of Saul as king of Israel because Saul was half-hearted. He led the army into battle, but refused to dedicate every living thing to God. He didn't finish the job....

God inspires us to boldly trust him. God incited Jonathan and his armor bearer to trust Him with their lives by tackling the Philistine outpost without help. Through Jonathan and his armor bearer, God incited panic in the Philistines and courage in...

Wait for God to do what only he can do. We take matters into our own hands at our own risk. When we do what God's supposed to do, we get sloppy results. We don't get what God offers those who wait upon him. Like Saul, we miss out on God's best.

God identifies and convicts us of sin so we'll return to him. He longs to show mercy, not wrath, so return to God. Don't use the past as an excuse to continue to rebel.

God provides the Holy Spirit to empower his people to do his work. For Saul, the Spirit enabled him to lead God's people. God also empowers us to accomplish his mission in this world.

What God is doing is infinitely more important than what we're doing. Saul was concerned about donkeys; his father about him. But God was raising up a deliverer to rescue God's people from the Philistines. So, follow his directions carefully.

God usually gives us what we want. Ouch! Be careful what you wish for. If you seek God, you'll get him. On the other hand, if you settle for lesser things, like stuff, fun, and power, you'll get it. And all that comes with it--headaches, heartache,...

God's a jealous God. So, we experience his power and healing when we return to him without reservation. God expects nothing less than all we are and have. And when we hold nothing back, we experience life as it was meant to be--in our finances,...