And David Said in His Heart…

 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul.—1 Samuel 27:1

This first sentence of 1 Samuel Chapter 27 really caught my attention.  I particularly noticed the phrase, And David said in his heart because in noticing that phrase, I also noted what it DID NOT say.  It did not say and “David prayed to the Lord”…or and “David communed with God”…or “David turned his heart upside down before the Lord”. Are you getting my concern?  You can tell by that phrase alone that David is headed for trouble.  Instead of talking to God, David is talking to himself. Jeremiah the prophet, tells us that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked.  David then, in having a “heart to heart” with himself, instead of having a “heart to heart” with God is receiving the wisdom that James tells us is earthly and demonic.  Consequently, David spends the next 16 months or so depressed and in enemy territory.  Not good…

One of the other reasons the phrase at the beginning of Chapter 27 stopped me is because I KNOW I do this.  Instead of bringing my problems to my Father in heaven, I bring them back to my own heart.  I talk to myself and not to God. This practice is not helpful, but hurtful, because I am looking to my flesh for answers instead of to the Spirit of God who dwells in me. I forget that the whole reason I cried out to God in the first place was because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the ability to do anything good was not in me. The fact that I was hopeless, helpless and totally insufficient for life here on earth was a conclusion that I had already drawn. It was God who redeemed my life from destruction.  It was me who excelled at destroying it.

Beloved, communing with our own hearts strengthens our old man and leads us away from God not toward Him. It is a tool that Satan uses to deceive.  When you find yourself doing it, redirect your voice to the One who loves You with an everlasting love. Go to Jesus because He is the Voice of Truth. Go to Jesus because He bids you to come.  

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.—Philippians 4:6-7

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.—Matthew 11:28-30