April 15 | God's Plan for David

Today’s Reading:

Read 2 Samuel 2:5-10; 3:1; 3:17-21; 2 Samuel 5:4-5

Have you ever had a great plan for an amazing day and then unexpectedly something happened that changed the entire plan? Imagine a trip planned to the beach. Your sunscreen and goggles are packed for a fun day swimming in the ocean. You walk on the sand, get your beach chair set up, and you hear thunder and see lightning. Rainy days are not ideal for a well-planned beach trip, are they? It is hard when plans don’t go the way we want them to, isn’t it?

In the story of David, we find a situation that didn’t go the way it was expected to go. Remember in 1 Samuel 16, Samuel anointed David to be the next King of Israel. When Saul died, David was supposed to become king. God had chosen David, Samuel had anointed him- it was all set up to go exactly as planned. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen exactly the way it was supposed to.

There were people who followed Saul who were not ready for David to be King. So, the fight for the title of King continued. The people of the tribe of Judah chose David and anointed them as their King, But the entire nation of Israel did not at first. 2 Samuel 3:1 tells us that Saul’s army grew weaker and David’s army grew stronger. It took some time, but finally David was anointed to be the King of all of Israel.

Application/Prayer:

David was faithful to follow God’s call on his life even though he faced many challenges along the way. Following God’s plan does not always mean things will come easily. Ask God to help you be brave like David and to follow His plan for your life- even if you face hard things along the way.

April Memory Verse:

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

Romans 10:9-10

Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:

Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.