Month: June 2025

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 113

And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of Engedi.

 1 Samuel 23:29

There are times when God gives us an oasis opportunity.  He knows what we need and when we need it.  God’s plans for our lives are good, and we will recognize that when we live thankful.   We must stay grateful for everything God does in our lives, looking for every opportunity God gives us.  This place too will become disrupted by a tormented man and king, but take the moment, stay thankful, and let God renew the soul.  Remember, God is working in our lives and in the lives of those who don’t care for us.  Be thankful today.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 112

But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.”

 1 Samuel 23:27

It often seems like God keeps us just a step ahead of our trouble when we want to be totally free from that trouble.  Just keep moving and trusting in God.  Get on the other side of your mountain and keep marching. We don’t know how God is going to save us.  King Saul was on the heels of David, ready to put an end to his adversary, and all it took was a messenger to change his focus.  Get on the other side of your mountain and quit thinking about it like everyone else.  There’s a reason why David is on one side and Saul is on the other side of this mountain; David’s following the Spirit, and Saul is following his own senses.  Ask God to send His messenger to your mountain.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 111

Then Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?                   1 Samuel 23:19

Betrayal will be one of the most difficult things we ever deal with in life.  Betrayal happens when others use us up for their own wants and worries.  And then there are those like King Saul who use that betrayal as if it were a blessing from God.  Saul said, “May you be blessed of the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. (1 Samuel 23:21) It’s purely selfish and dishonest.  Betrayal leaves us feeling exposed and vulnerable, but God doesn’t need anything natural to hide and protect us from our foe.  His hand is sufficient to bless and keep us.  We just must be willing to leave our hands in His, trusting Him all along the way.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 110

While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. ¹⁶ And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. ¹⁷ “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father, Saul, will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul, knows this.” ¹⁸ The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

1 Samuel 23:15-18

There’s nothing like a friend when you’re in the fight.  Make sure your friends are friends.  David and Jonathan are friends who were in covenant with each other.  Trust comes from character, not covenant.  Jonathan’s father is in pursuit of David to kill him.  During that time, David’s friend Janathan comes to encourage David.  That takes trust on behalf of both men.  You see, they knew what they each treasured.  Trust is built on what we both treasure

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 109

David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

1 Samuel 23:14

It’s an amazing thing how God can keep us one step in front of our foe.  God doesn’t give us up to our foe; our flesh does that for us.  When we live in the foolishness and fear of man, our flesh gives us up to the foe.  But when we live by faith with our Father, God keeps us a step ahead.  Our foe is not like our Father; he doesn’t know all things all the time.  Our foe hears about it and realizes that we’re no long where he thought we were.  God doesn’t give us up; He takes us up.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 108

Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account. ¹¹ Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand?

1 Samuel 23:10-11

Always trust the word of God before you trust the word of man.  Not every invitation ends with good intentions.  The flesh, the natural tendencies of man’s skin, is full of fear and faithlessness.  Don’t put your life in the hands of man but the hands of the Master.  Flesh will give you up, but faith will take you up.  Learn to pray about everything.  Philippians 4:6 says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  That’s putting yourself in the hands of the Master.  Trust Him!  Listen for His voice.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 107

So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines; and he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

1 Samuel 23:5

The only way to fight fear is with faith, and that means taking action against fear.  Faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)   There’s that place where we have to obey the voice of the Lord, trust in Him, and follow Him to the end of the conflict.  God gives us His word, and we must take His walk, exercising faith.  Love and hope are what God does; faith is what we do. 

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 106

But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines?” ⁴ Then David inquired of the LORD once more. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.”

 1 Samuel 23:3-4

It’s amazing what a little repentance can do for a soul.  Once David renews his trust in God, his passion, perspective and purpose returned.  It lives in Him to be king by first acting as a king.  Just because we leave fear doesn’t mean fear leaves us.  There is fear all around us.  The opposite of love is fear, and it’s our enemy’s greatest weapon.  The best way to deal with fear is to go to the Father.  Get His perspective and plans for the situation.  With His perspective,e we lead through the fear, over the fear, during fear for the glory of God.  Don’t accept fear, admit it to God.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 105

But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelek, you and your whole family. ”
¹⁷ Then the king ordered the guards at his side: “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.”

1 Samuel 22:16-17

It’s important to understand the power of a lie.  Proverbs says, “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin. (Proverbs 26:28) When we lie, we expose those around us to harm and death.  Believing something that’s not true puts them in a dangerous way.  We lie when we become proud in our own hearts and more confident in our own ways.  That’s pride. Even life itself becomes perverted through lies, perverting our understanding as well as our perception.  Proverbs 12:2 says, “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

David Day 104

But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. ²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. ²² And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. ²³ Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”

 1 Samuel 22:20-23

A principle in the Bible says we will reap what we sow.  In fact, this principle is woven into creation.  Sin costs more, reaches further, and lasts longer than we ever think.  The past doesn’t become the past until we repent.  Now we can live under or over the past, it’s our decision.  Here’s a couple of things David did to live over his past:  He confessed not only what he did but what he thought, and then he took responsibility for what he had caused and cared for those he hurt.