There are times when my heart, my head, and my hand don’t line up. For example, my heart may have the desire to rest in God’s word, while my hand reaches for my phone to mindlessly scroll through apps instead. Or, when I my head says that I should snack on carrots, while my hand reaches for an Almond Joy bar.

There are ways that I can set myself up for success with these misalignments of heart, head & hand. If I don’t take my phone with me to the chair where I am planning to rest in God’s Word, there’s no way it can end up in my hand. Or, if I open the refrigerator & avoid the pantry, I’d have eaten those carrots instead (this is of course assuming that I avoid that very close freezer door, which is the portal to ice cream goodness).

Let’s say I was plotting to kill someone who was coming to my home, but then was encouraged not to do so by a loved one, & I vow not to do it, would I sit in my chair with a spear in my hand?

That sounds crazy doesn’t it?!?

That’s definitely NOT setting myself up for success.

When I read about this very scenario in 1 Samuel 19, I thought, why in the world would Saul vow not to kill David, but then sit in his house with a spear in his hand?
Why? Because of one very important detail. One that I often overlook myself in my own life. It was due to an evil spirit.
Satan loves to throw chaos at us. He loves to “stir the pot” in my home, and in yours. Why? To distract us. When we are distracted, we lose focus. We lose sight of who the real enemy is, then we end up fighting the wrong battle, which is exactly how he wants it.

Now, let’s look at what was in David’s hand…his harp. This harp combated the evil spirit tormenting Saul. It was an instrument of praise music. David was set up for success; Saul wasn’t.

So, what’s in my hand?
Are there ways that I can set myself up for success with what I choose to place in my hands? Or choose NOT to place in my hands?

These verses had me mediating all day long on what I place in my hands. It’s definitely a choice I have to make each day, each hour, sometimes each minute.

Lord, thank you that You have already won the battle against good and evil. Help me to remember that there is a very real enemy who seeks to throw chaos into my home into my life. Also, help me to be intentional about what I place in my hands, so I can escape evil. Help me to place a harp there, and not a spear; a Bible, and not my phone. For, I know that when You place the desire in my heart to rest in Your Word, you have a word, a message there for me, waiting to be discovered. Thank you, almighty Father, that You desire a relationship with me. That fact alone, is so very, very humbling. Keep me humble, keep me seeking You, help me to turn from my wicked ways, so You will hear me, forgive my sin, and heal my land. I love You with all my heart. Amen.

“Now there was an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand. Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.”
1 Samuel 19:9-10 (emphasis mine)