Ephesians 4:16: “From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love”

Many people know the story of David and Goliath, but I don’t hear many speak of David and Saul. Saul was originally anointed to be king over Israel. He was a humble man but one day, his title got the best of him and he ended up disobeying God’s word and causing God to reject Saul as king. This brought David in to play and soon he was anointed to be king by Samuel. Saul despised David. He felt like he took what was originally his. He was jealous, bitter, and hateful toward someone who had a different anointing than he did. 

Sometimes we can be the same way. We can get caught up in an individual doing something we thought we could’ve done better or someone receiving a blessing we thought we deserved at the time. We often forget the purpose of what we’re doing, which is to bring growth into the Kingdom of God. Saul hated David so much, he followed him, chasing him down, trying to kill David over his own feelings. 

We keep up with people on social media, following their every post and every move just to fuel the fire of bitterness within us. We follow their lives, their accomplishments, just for us to say to ourselves, “what did they do to have that?”

To be transparent, I went through a time like that. I had to unfollow someone’s Instagram because I was jealous of them. I was jealous of what they could afford, their followers, and how many likes they acquired. I was so bitter toward this person I barely even knew though she is a part of the body of Christ. I wanted her blessings. Becoming jealous of someone breeds bitterness which will cause disunity.

Due to Saul’s jealousy, he chased after David- a man after God’s own heart. David respected Saul because he understood the anointing that was once upon him. Saul focused on his fleshly desires while David set his eyes on the Lord and His voice.

We all have the ability to be anointed, we don’t have to be a king, a prophet, or a preacher to be credible. We can all be anointed prayer warriors, intercessors, and teachers. We have to know the importance of the anointing before wanting it for personal use.

Moving from 1 Samuel to 2 Samuel, in chapter one, an Amalekite comes to David to tell him Saul and Jonathan died in battle. 2 Samuel 1:11-12 states,

“Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them and so did all the men who were with him, and they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for saul and Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword.”

Through all Saul put David through, David set those issues aside, mourned for Saul and Jonathan, and brought other men together in unity to do the same. Through paranoia and confusion of Saul’s devices, David did what he knew best and that was to turn to the Lord for Saul.

In order for us to fulfill God’s promises as a church, we have to be the church TOGETHER. We have to recognize the importance of each person in this room, even if they are granted a position we wish we had or attention we sometimes would like to receive. The bible says in Romans 12:15 to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. It’s easy to cry with someone else, especially if your life is where you’d like for it to be. But what if the roles were switched? Do we rejoice when someone gets a new car and ours just broke down? 

This life is NOT about us but about the kingdom of God. in the book of acts, in order for the miraculous to happen, they had to be in unity.

Acts 2:44: “And now all who believed were TOGETHER, and had all things in common.”

Acts 2:46: “So continuing daily with one afford in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they are their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.”

Acts 4:32: “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own but they had all things in common.”

Scripture says that when two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst. I wonder what God could do if 150 people are gathered together in His name, in one mind, one accord with one goal—to worship the one true living God! We would see things we have never seen before!

I ended up following the person back and I am now genuinely happy for her and her accomplishments. She is part of the body of Christ and I realized I needed to support her, whether she’s right here with me or miles away.

So if you find yourself showing characteristics of Saul, pray for God to remove any bitterness about ANYTHING, even things that are hidden and suppressed in your heart. God will reveal them to you, not to make you seem like a terrible person; but to help you grow so the kingdom of God can do the same.

Leah is a 22 years old graduate from Clemson, South Carolina. She has her Bachelors of Science in Psychology. She attends Sanctuary of Praise where she is the Prayer Coordinator for CalledOut Youth and also helps with homeless ministry. She feels as though writing is a different form of art that can reach people if they’re willing to listen