FAITH CAPSULE: Being wise and simple is a violence suppressor.
1 Samuel 18
Undeniably, the devil is the father of all lies and liars. Above all, he is persistent in getting wickedness done. He is unrelenting when it comes to inflicting pain on man. Every man’s pain is the devil’s gain. All this identify him as the violent one. Obviously, after is failure in tempting Jesus, he did not leave Jesus alone without a desire for a return agenda. The Bible pointed it out, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13) The Satan seeking an opportune time is the evidence of his persistence in being violent. Apparently the Satan is the violent one. The word of God made it clear that, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12) The wicked one’s understanding is violent and it will take violent to deal with him. The weapon of violent in the hand of believer is to be wise and simple. Paul the apostle buttressed in Romans16:19-20, “…but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly…”
The life of King David depicts one that constantly demonstrated wisdom. Before he became king, the bible recorded, “So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.” (1 Samuel 18:5) David was well accepted in the sight of all including King Saul’s servant and that set him up for undeniable favor. David’s demonstration of wisdom caused him to gain high esteem. The Bible stated, “… And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.” (1 Samuel 18:30) Applying wisdom and simplicity of heart set David up for a path that cannot be frustrated Saul’s evil agenda.
When it became clear that he was going to become the next king after King Saul, for so many years, David was still running from one mountain to another mountain; he hides from one cave to another cave in his attempt to avoid Saul’s evil agenda. He was relentlessly pursued in attempt to be killed by King Saul. David had many chances to kill Saul but he respected the anointing upon the life of Saul. With David’s application of wisdom by grace, there was no way he could fail. David was wise engaging the evil in King Saul. He also maintained simplicity by not taking over his challenges by virtue of power bestowed on him by the grace of God. Being wise and simple is a violence suppresser.
Prayer for today: Ask God for the kind of wisdom and simplicity that terminates violent that is set against you.