Gospel Reflections #949: The Many Opportunities to go back to God

1 Samuel 18:28,29 "Saul realised that the Lord was with David, and that his daughter Michal loved him. Saul became even more afraid of David and harboured enmity towards him for the rest of his life."

This marks the turning point where King Saul fully recognised David as an "enemy" and came to harbour deep fear towards him.

Seeing David win battle after battle and return victorious after fulfilling the difficult condition (the harsh dowry of 100 Philistine foreskins) by doubling it to 200, Saul was forced to acknowledge the fact that "the Lord was with David."

Because the Spirit of God had departed from Saul himself, he felt a spiritual inferiority and dread towards David, who was under God's protection.

Moreover, the fact that even his own daughter Michal loved David felt to Saul like betrayal from his own family.

The phrase 'he became David's enemy for the rest of his life' signifies that Saul's inner jealousy and fear had solidified into irreparable murderous intent and enmity.

The text depicts the tragic unfolding of Saul's fear of the man chosen by God (David), driving him ever deeper into unbelief and ruin.

We too can become like Saul in how we perceive facts and circumstances.

Particularly when we sense God's presence with another person, our own jealousy and hatred towards them can boil over.

I believe God surely gave Saul many opportunities to return to Him.

Yet when our negative emotions grow too large to let go, God’s presence may vanish from our awareness.

To prevent this, we must pause and reflect on where we stand and what we are seeing.

This too is a grace, God’s guidance leading us.

Changing direction may be painful, but it is God’s emergency lifesaving measure for us – something we cannot do without.

AUTHOR'S BIO: This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, who resides in Hiroshima, Japan. Masae is a dedicated student of the Bible with a deep passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on Gospel perspectives to reach out to others and spread the message of God's true love through a Christ-centered approach. We are sharing her insights here so that you, too, can experience the joy that comes from knowing and understanding the true Gospel and the love of God through Jesus Christ.