Reading about Saul today made me think of spring cleaning. Saul was holding on to some feelings and issues that he desperately needed to get rid of.
Disobedience to God and jealousy are a bad mix! Saul is a great example for us of what not to do! In 1 Samuel 16:14, we learn that Saul has upset and disobeyed God so much, that God removes His Spirit and gives Saul an evil spirit instead. This passage surprised me. After doing some searching, however, I found in the MacArthur Bible Commentary, that “evil spirits are subject to God’s control and operate only within divinely determined boundaries” (i.e. Job). At this point in his life, Saul is not seeking God in anyway. He is without God’s leadership and has no desire to return to God or repent of his disobedience. Saul knows that the Lord is with David, and jealousy quickly becomes his constant companion.
In 1 Samuel 19:6 Saul makes an oath that “David will not be put to death”. However, David experiences more success and only three verses later (1 Samuel 19:9-10) we learn that Saul can not control the evil inside of him. He is completely blinded and driven by his jealousy, rage and anger. Saul becomes intent on harming David.
It is sometimes difficult to see past those feelings. We see others gaining success around us, perhaps it is something we wanted or think we deserve. It is so easy to be blinded by anger and jealousy. We sometimes find ourselves saying, thinking or doing things we never thought possible. We often want to hold on to these feelings, thinking we somehow deserve the right to be angry or hurt. When we find ourselves in the midst of these bad feelings, the best thing we can do is surrender to God.
At our house, we call these bad feelings “yucky-puckies”. (This term is not my own, it is based on a message that my Aunt told me about.) As soon as we recognize the yucky-puckies in someone, we will call it to their attention. When these dark moods creep in, they will quickly multiply and take over causing turmoil and drama in their midst. The yucky feelings can quickly spread to other family members, friends, or anyone else around. They are happy to hang around and will stay as long as the atmosphere is favorable for them.
As soon as we recognize their presence, we tell them to go. Sometimes we talk about what caused the bad feelings to start. We talk about why they go against what God wants us to do or who He wants us to be. Then we say, “GO”. It takes some conviction and it can be fun chasing them away. We have found the best way to keep them away is praise and worship. Those pesky puckies won’t stick around to hear the sweetest name on earth!
I’m going to look within myself today and see if the temple needs a little spring cleaning. You never know where a little yucky-puckie might be hiding!
Father, thank you for Your Word and for giving me such good examples of how to live my life. Please search my heart today and show me where there are evil feelings hiding within me. I want to get rid of everything that is against you and anything that keeps me from becoming more like Jesus. Amen.
Blessings,
