Kristi Burchfiel

The God who Hears, Day 18 What makes us afraid? Read 1 Samuel chapter 18. For Saul, he was terrified that David would be better and more loved than he was. Yet, Saul also recognized that the Lord was with David. When we are not following the Lord, there is nothing more terrifying than a person who does follow the Lord. As followers of Christ, we may not really understand just how truly powerful we are when we are on God’s side and he is working through us. Are we following and obeying God? Are we allowing God to work and move through us? He is our power and only…

The God who Hears, Day 17 First impressions. Read 1 Samuel chapter 17. We read through the very familiar story of David and Goliath I’m struck by what I see in this verse. Goliath had a first impression of David. Goliath saw David and he was not thinking there was much there. David didn’t impress Goliath in any way. Yet Goliath soon learned very differently. Impressions can be deceiving. We can never underestimate the possibilities when God is with someone. God plus anyone is an incredible force that cannot be overcome. No matter what impression we have of people, if God is with them, there’s nothing that they can’t do.…

The God who Hears, Day 16 To see as God sees. Read 1 Samuel chapter 16. Oh, how I would love to see things the way God’s seeds them. I know that God sees things in such a different way than we do and even Samuel who had been serving God for years did not understand or see the people the way God saw them. Do we ask God to help us see the world and people the way he sees them? Are we seeking after God’s heart and desiring his eyes?

The God who Hears, Day 15 What is obedience to God worth? Read 1 Samuel chapter 15. Saul has been given a mission from the Lord. He does it, but he doesn’t do it exactly the way that God told him to. When Samuel confronts him, Saul claims that he disobeyed so that he could worship God. When we think about being obedient to the Lord’s commands, what is that obedience worth? What does our mean to make a decision that is difficult in order to be obedient to exactly what God is telling us. God gives us specific instructions for a purpose and it is important that we fulfill…

The God who Hears, Day 14 The consequences of our sin. Read 1 Samuel chapter 14. The people of Israel rebelled against God and asked God to give them a king. They didn’t want to just have God as their king, they wanted a physical human being as king. God shared with the people that a king would demand things from them and would take things from them, and the people agreed that they were OK with that. Here, we see the start of this. Saul starts to draft people into the military, whether they wanted to be or not. When we sin, there are consequences to that. When we…

The God who Hears, Day 13 Define foolishness. Read 1 Samuel chapter 13. What does it mean to be foolish? Often when we think of someone who is foolish, we envision people with a lack of intelligence or who have made incorrect choices. That’s partially the answer. However, we can more broadly, and accurately, define foolishness as anything that is disobedient to the Lord. The definition of foolishness is a direct correlation to our understanding and obedience of the will of God in our lives. Every time we make a decision to disobey what God has called us to do, we are acting foolishly. What is wisdom? To obey the…

The God who Hears, Day 12 Our prayer responsibility. Read 1 Samuel chapter 12. Samuel is coming to the place of his retirement. He has served the Lord for many years and served him well. He comes before the new king Saul and all of the people and reminds them of the way in which he has faithfully served God for all these years. Samuel reminds the people of the importance of obeying the Lord and following him. Samuel then tells the people that he will be praying for them. More than that, that it would be a sin for him not to pray for them. Do we realize our…

The God who Hears, Day 11 Is anger a sin? Read 1 Samuel chapter 11. I’ve heard that question asked several times and in several ways by many people throughout the years. Is anger a sin? And the answer is, by itself no, anger itself is not a sin. However, it’s important to understand why we get angry and what we do when we get angry. You see, throughout scripture God gets angry and Jesus gets angry. However, what made them angry were things that were against the holiness of God. Those things should make us angry too. As examples, things like slavery and human trafficking and racism are direct…

The God who Hears, Day 10 God always knows best. Read 1 Samuel chapter 10. Samuel is announcing to the people God’s choice of king. When they see him, they recognize good man and appreciate God’s choice. Even though the people were unwilling to follow God’s plan and allow him to be their king, they still were willing to allow God to choose the man who would be king for them. How well do we follow God’s plan for us? Do we follow partially, like the people of Israel were doing here? Do we follow completely like Samuel urged the people to? Or do we turn our back on God…

The God who Hears, Day 9 The picture of a king. Read 1 Samuel chapter 9. As we meet Saul for the first time, we see a man that is the picture of exactly what one would expect to see in a king. He is tall and handsome. Yet at no point through this selection process does God reveal Saul’s heart or his devotion or obedience to God. God hears everything and knows everything and he knew what was in Saul’s heart. God knows us and while we may be focused on the perfect exterior look, God sees the heart and knows what is there. Are we staying focused on…