Good morning sir!  Let’s begin with this prayer: Lord, I thank You this morning, that You have done everything to make it possible for me to be in relationship with You!  I want to truly abide in You!  Amen!

Our hearts have an amazing capacity to justify our wrong behavior.  When we do, it’s a sure sign that we have adopted a mercenary spirit!

A Ukrainian friend of mine once said: Man seeks advantage, God seeks relationship.  And this is one of the hardest things to overcome.  We all have this problem.  It’s just a matter of degree.  

When David went over to the Philistine side, lies and falsehoods were normal with his boss, King Achish, of the Philistines.  When they amassed wealth, David told Achish, it’s coming from killing your enemies.  But really David was killing Israel’s enemies, which David justified in his mind for his lying!  I’m getting God’s work done my own way.  But this came to a head when Achish told David that he had to go to war against Israel and fight on his side.  1 Samuel 28:1. Mercifully, other commanders did not buy into David’s loyalty and David didn’t have to go.

But soon however, David’s self protection, self interest and self advantage ran it’s course.  The deceptions ran out. David was at an all time low. David was in a spiritual desert.  David didn’t write any Psalms during this time.  David didn’t know what to do.  In this state, David was no different than Saul.  It could have been disastrous for the future of Israel!  But in God’s eyes, David needed to go one step lower!

Relationship has to do with our heart!   "Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to do so?” Amos 3:3. God patiently waits for our hearts to turn towards Him, so then we can walk with Him!

My prayer for today: Lord, You waited patiently for me!  I am forever grateful for that!  You only want relationship with me.  “I am yours, and you are Mine!” Solomon 2:16 Amen!