The ending of 1 Samuel/beginning of 2 Samuel reads an awful lot like Tolkien or George Martin literature. Summoning of deceased spirits, raids of heroic rescue, barbaric treatments of the dead, lament over lost love of a friend.
Yet as opposed to fantasy fiction, the events transpiring in 1 Samuel are all true.
And what an exhausting chase David lived in up until Saul’s death! The Lord kept him victorious in all his travails, whether it be for or against Israel. Most of it was for, but there is that 1.4 year stint residing in Philistine country and raiding Israelite peoples. Yet in it all, the Lord was the stronghold in David’s life.
Yesterday in the book I'm reading, Rooted, by Banning Liebscher, he talks about when he first encountered God in a deeply powerful way, and as a result, dug deep into scripture.
He says, “In order to develop a thriving root system, our lives must be rooted in the soil of scripture.” (p.84) and “It’s when your roots go deep in the soil of the Word that you develop an ability to hear Him, and when you can hear Him, faith comes.” (p.85)
I take note of this because I am thirsting to hear God’s voice.
It’s hard, you know, the still small voice that most of the time is difficult to discern whether it’s my own or the Lord’s. I want to know the Lord’s clearer. I want to be so familiar with hearing Him that I am unwavering in my ability to undoubtedly relay his word. So I’m going to, as Liebscher so did, consume the Word He has given that sits invitingly still beside my bed. It sits still… until you open it. Then the Word is active. Changing the heart of the hungry reader. Are you hungry? Scriptures are a feast laid before us. Some things will be hard to digest. Other things sweet as honey to inhale. The aromas of truth and love and promise flow from the ink on these pages. How wonderful it is to have a collection of such divine literature. These are the words God has intended us to hold in our hearts. Might I hold them as treasures to be shared, Abba.
It's not all gonna read like Tolkien or Martin, but it's pretty epic when it does. God is awesome and the Bible is weird (in the most hallowed way).
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