DAILY?READINGS: 1 Samuel 26-27; Isaiah 65; Romans 8:1-17
And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 1 Samuel 4:10
What led to the worst loss of life in the history of Israel? God’s people engaged an enemy that feared God more than they did! The Jews believed that the Ark of the Covenant would save them from defeat (1 Sam. 4:3), instead of trusting the One who gave them the Ark. Religiosity always replaces the Lord with broken cisterns and empty wells. There are no “good luck charms” for believers. We are at war with a fierce enemy. With the Lord we can do all things (Phil. 4:13), and without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). —Warren A. Henderson
Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth! —J. Neander