| “And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched.” – 1 Samuel 10:26 |
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| BEING VALIANT FOR GOD with a HEART FOR GOD Any conversation about King Saul is almost always going to be negative. After all, he is one of the few who ever gets the admission from the Lord that He “regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.” (1 Samuel 15:35c) As King of Israel he is known for acting foolishly and being disobedient toward God. (1 Samuel 13:13) Yes, King Saul is not one to look at or study for WHAT ONE SHOULD DO. While being chosen to defeat the Philistines (1 Samuel 9:16) he failed to fulfill his stated purpose. Saul was supposed to be an ANSWER TO PRAYER for dealing with the Philistines but in the end, the Philistines defeated him. However, even with all the negatives, we find that at his beginning he had VALIANT men with him, men in whom God had touched their hearts. Those two descriptions are very noteworthy and admirable. We should want to be known as VALIANT men and women and men and women whose HEARTS have been TOUCHED/influenced by the Lord. Let’s look a little closer at these two descriptions. VALIANT. It is a word you will find 29 times in the NKJV. It means “possessing or showing courage or determination.” BRAVE! No backing down. No quitting! . Another instance of the word “valiant” associated with King Saul is found in 1 Samuel 14:52. It says, “Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any VALIANT man, he took him for himself.” Give Saul credit here that he did know what to look for in finding soldiers! The word “valiant” is also found in the HALL OF FAITH passage. In Hebrews 11:34 we read of where people of faith “quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Our verse tells us about VALIANT men and it tells us about men whose hearts God had touched. This means they had a heart that God could guide, that God could influence. Their hearts belonged to God as opposed to the false gods around them. So, what type of person are you? Would family and friends, associates, and neighbors describe you as VALIANT? Are you one who is not afraid of the battles against the evil forces of this world? Would you be described as one whose heart belongs to the Lord? I challenge you to live and act in a way that a descriptive word for your character is VALIANT. May you be known as a man or woman of VALOR!! And let there be no question that your heart has been touched by God! Verse to DATE the Word on October 26 (10/26) is 1 Samuel 10:26. It says, “And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched.” Continue STRONG as a person of VALOR! And remember to DATE THE WORD |