Value

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

VALUE

1 Samuel 26:22-25

22 "Here is the king's spear," David answered. "Let one of your young men come over and get it. 23 The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. The LORD delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the LORD's anointed. 24 As surely as I valued your life today, so may the LORD value my life and deliver me from all trouble." 25 Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, my son David; you will do great things and surely triumph." So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.

NIV

One more thought from this exchange between David and Saul after David and Abishai went into Saul’s tent and stood there talking about killing him, but David just took his spear and water jug that was near Saul’s head. In this portion of the exchange, David is on a hill far enough from Saul but close enough to talk to each other. The point here is that David valued Saul's life, and he was asking the Lord to value his own life and deliver him from all trouble. We know that we live in a world where many people think mostly about their own lives, their plans, and putting all the emphasis on self. There are also many who serve others, putting a value on the lives of those who are in need of some form of assistance in life. Seeing the value in the lives of others is an honorable act of love that should be a part of all within the community of faith. David said another thought about when he asked the LORD to value his life and deliver him from all trouble. There is no question in our hearts and minds regarding the fact that the Lord values our lives. First of all, He created us in His image. But the greatest expression of value for our lives was sending Jesus to remove all our sins so that we might have eternal life and live once more in the paradise with the Lord God Almighty. How could we ever think the Lord does not value us? That one act of love delivered us from the threat of eternal damnation in hell. We also believe that because of his great love for us, the immense value he puts on our lives, he would deliver us from all trouble. We do wonder when we hear that expression, “Why bad things happen to good people”, why they say that. Is that an excuse for not believing the Lord will deliver them from all trouble? Or is it true that good people have troubles? We also wonder if the term, good people, has any reference to the people of God, or is that simply a generic term used for those who appear good, but do not have a heart for God. We would have to believe that those within the household of faith would know that the Lord delivers them from all trouble. We know how the Lord delivered Israel from so many troubles. Yes, they were in trouble in Egypt for centuries, but when they turned from their own trouble and cried out to the Lord, he delivered them. Over and over again, when they cried out to the Lord, he delivered them from trouble. Peter tells us to cast all our anxiety on the Lord, for he cares for us. However, the central point is that we must cry out to our Lord. That may not be like the cry of the Israelites, but when we have our hearts turned toward the Lord, always looking to him for all things in our lives, we can be assured he will deliver us from all trouble, because he values us.