13Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah. 14Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him. 1 Samuel 16:13-14

People believe having a lot of money is good, being poor is bad. Being healthy is good; being ill, bad. People evaluate their lives and base their actions using this worldly perspective. In this passage, we learn that living according to our own viewpoint can cause us to stray from the path of God, ultimately leading to His rejecting us. Samuel, David, and Saul present to us three different levels of how we can make this mistake and their varying outcomes. 

When we walk with God, there is no good or bad as the world sees it. In fact, something the world deems a curse can be a blessing when we have the correct perspective. Following our own will and purpose is not the way the Bible instructs us to live. When we are connected with God, we evaluate based on whether something aligns or does not align with God’s purpose. Whether it is good or bad is determined by whether we are with or against God. When we do not walk with God, whatever we pursue becomes a curse despite all our efforts. How do we know what to discard that will hurt us and seek what will help us? We must walk with God. When we walk with God, good or bad, it leads to His blessings for us. Therefore, should we make our choices based on what our own view tells us to be advantageous or do we follow the wisdom of God as directed by His truth in the Bible?

Samuel, David, and Saul commit the same mistake in varying amounts, and God departs from them accordingly. Just for a moment, Samuel relies on his own thinking and believes an older brother is the one God wants him to anoint as king because he is tall and handsome. But God informs him that he is mistaken. Samuel immediately understands his error, aligns with God, and is able to view correctly, finding David to anoint him king. David walked with God but had isolated times where he served his own desire and sinned, resulting in terrible punishments for specific periods. Saul finds himself in a great position from a worldly perspective, exalted by everyone in Israel. Being king, rather than obeying God, became his priority. As a result, Saul is completely rejected by God. 

When we are connected to God and He drives all our actions, all creation works for us. No matter how good it seems, if it causes us to abandon God, we will suffer just like Saul. As soon as God’s spirit departs from us, so does His protection and support, enabling evil to take control of our lives. Once God’s spirit departed from him, evil entered Saul’s mind. His every thought was about his agenda. The more effort Saul put forth, the worse his situation became. Saul became more paranoid, his head full of worries and stress about holding onto his power. All his thoughts were about how he could help himself or counteract what around him threatened his power. Having been completely rejected by God, Saul lived out his days in pain and died.

Yet, when we walk with God, even what seems the most terrible situation will benefit us. When he was on the run pursued by Saul, it only glorified and positioned David to be adored by the people. While on the run, David never acted on his own but followed God. David rose and became king of Israel. When we are one with God, God cares for us, and all things, even the seemingly awful, become a blessing. When God is not, no matter what we do, we are met with failure and pain.

When we think according to our view of what is good or bad, it hurts us in the end. We become self-oriented and ignore God’s purpose to our detriment. This is very simple and clear. When God’s spirit enters, we stop thinking of ourselves and focus on God. When we walk with God, all creation works for our benefit. If we hold onto God, God will never throw us away. There is nothing greater than God’s care, and nothing more fearful than being rejected by God.

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1981-12-5-dawn-21