Running for One

As David and his men are safe at home with their families, Saul and the Israelites are still battling it out with the Philistines. As predicted, Saul is losing ground quickly and all of his sons - including Jonathon - are killed. Saul himself is critically wounded and asks his armor-bearer to kill him, but the man would not because Saul is king. So Saul takes his own sword and falls on it to avoid being killed by a Philistine. When the Israelites saw their king and all of his sons were dead, they fled. What happened to Saul? He was chosen as the very first king of Israel and was annointed by God Himself. So much promise and opportunity but he ends up in a life of self destruction that ultimately ends in suicide. His story is not an uncommon one. Daily there are stories of lives that seem to hold such promise but end in such self-inflicted tragedy. We can sit in judgment and shake our heads in disappointment, but the reality is that we daily make small decisions that will eventually lead to death or life. Our story will be told - by us or others - and we make decisions daily that will effect how it is told. I pray today for the story I want to tell...the one I want to live...a life in which I got back up every time I fell and in which I ran for One.