The Difference Is The Presence
Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul. So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. In everything he did, he had great success, because the LORD was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.
I Samuel 18:12-16
I Samuel 18:12-16
“In everything he did, he had great success because the LORD was with him.”
That is a summary of David’s life - The LORD was with him.
It is one thing to be chosen by God, but a totally different thing to walk confidently in the knowledge that “the LORD is with you.” Saul was chosen by God, but God departed from him when he disobeyed the divine command to annihilate the Amalekites. From that point on, Samuel said to him: “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.” (1 Samuel 15:23b). When the Presence of the LORD departs from us, all we have left is our human strength which amounts to nothing. The conscious Presence or tangible anointing of God is what grants us success in all we do.
Obedience assures the Presence but disobedience drives the Presence away.
The secret to David's success was not because he was a perfect human being, but simply because he had a transparent and intimate relationship with the LORD. In his human weakness, he faced Goliath because in his own words: “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37). David was simply reiterating the fact the Presence of the LORD was going to grant him victory over Goliath just as the Presence had protected him from the lion and the bear.
David knew that without the Presence of the LORD, he would amount to nothing. It was the Presence of the LORD that inspired him to write those beloved words: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. . . . Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For you are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. . . . . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23, NKJV). Those are the confident words of a man who walked in the Presence!
May the presence of the LORD overshadow you like it overshadowed David. May you have great success in all you do because the LORD is with you. If God is with you, who can be against you? His Presence is with you and that is all you need! Walk in the Presence.
That is a summary of David’s life - The LORD was with him.
It is one thing to be chosen by God, but a totally different thing to walk confidently in the knowledge that “the LORD is with you.” Saul was chosen by God, but God departed from him when he disobeyed the divine command to annihilate the Amalekites. From that point on, Samuel said to him: “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.” (1 Samuel 15:23b). When the Presence of the LORD departs from us, all we have left is our human strength which amounts to nothing. The conscious Presence or tangible anointing of God is what grants us success in all we do.
Obedience assures the Presence but disobedience drives the Presence away.
The secret to David's success was not because he was a perfect human being, but simply because he had a transparent and intimate relationship with the LORD. In his human weakness, he faced Goliath because in his own words: “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37). David was simply reiterating the fact the Presence of the LORD was going to grant him victory over Goliath just as the Presence had protected him from the lion and the bear.
David knew that without the Presence of the LORD, he would amount to nothing. It was the Presence of the LORD that inspired him to write those beloved words: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. . . . Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For you are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. . . . . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23, NKJV). Those are the confident words of a man who walked in the Presence!
May the presence of the LORD overshadow you like it overshadowed David. May you have great success in all you do because the LORD is with you. If God is with you, who can be against you? His Presence is with you and that is all you need! Walk in the Presence.
Prayer: Father, please help me to settle for nothing less than your conscious Presence at all times. May I never go where your Presence does not lead me. Amen.