Know the Saul-spirit in operation

By Moabi Pitsi

Fear is a very dangerous spirit in the Kingdom of God. More so because where there is no faith  in God, fear kicks in to rule, to oppress, to divide, to poison, to find fault, to be angry - indeed to hate with a deeper hate.

Believe it or not, tt happens that those in authority, those we truly trust, like pastors or elders, can turn out to be your worst worship nightmare we need to overcome.

1 Samuel 18 bears testimony to the spirit of reserval of faith that drags human beings into what they should never, ever become:

“ After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

5 Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.

6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang:

“Saul has slain his thousands,

    and David his tens of thousands.”

8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.

10 The next day an evil[a] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. 14 In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.”

Firstly, David was an anointed man of God who became a much-loved warrior in his prime. Saul was also a leader, who David had an obligation to honour, respect and work with.Other people who lived with Saul had so much respect for David as well. 

    

Secondly,  The continued praise  and repetition of the successes of David created anger and hatred in the heart of Saul. With anger, Saul was now full under the operations of the prince of darkness. The more David succeeded, the more Saul hated him. 

Thirdly, The more David submitted to Saul, the more Saul plotted to have his future stolen and destroyed. When David continue fill himself with God, Saul poured tons of hatred into his own heart, and justified it. Everyone else did not stop Saul from feeling the way he was feeling towards David. Some did not even notice as David has not repeatedly told everyone about it. 

Fourthly, All the successes that David had never escaped the eye of Saul, and the heart of his jealousy. Many times Saul plotted and threw death at David, but God was with David. Saul’s mountains of hatred obscured him from seeing the many battles that David led to defend Israel and Judah against enemy. David has displayed quality leadership when required to do so. He had inspired confidence in others by how he conducted himself in times of war. He had won admiration by how  he addressed armies, strategised with them for war, and how he treated them even after their conquest. This did not sit well with Saul.

The Saul of our time is alive

The same Saul, who pursued David with rage, is tearing churches apart today. We should be weary of the pain Saul causes in the Body of Christ. The Saul could be your pastor. The Saul could be your church elders or congregants. The Saul could be in you. You can see the Saul-spirit by a relentless pursuit of children of God with intention to steal their dreams, kill the passion for the Christ and destroy the benefits future generations were going to have just because of the David-presence and skill. The Saul-spirit is determined and will never stop until it damages the spirit of David. It will not stop until David runs aways. It will not stop until it is confronted like Goliath and cut of from the head. The Saul-spirit has been informed to target you. Even its companions, those you don’t recognize will pursuit you. It will not stop because its you. But thank God that He gives us the spirit of overcomers. The God who is above all things. Even when the Saul-spirit reigns, God the Commander will continued to enable the David get more success.