There are two characters in the book of Samuel that illustrate two ways most people live. I'm talking about Saul and David. Let’s look into these guys in 1 Samuel.

In chapter 9, we are introduced to Saul, an only child raised in the home of an incredibly rich and powerful man. The Bible tells us Saul was more handsome than anyone among the Israelites, and he was head shoulders taller than anyone else. Tall rich and handsome. I can relate.

In this chapter, the family loses some donkeys, and Saul is tasked with taking one of the servants to go find them. They passed throughout about 50 square miles land and found nothing. That’s almost double the size of Liberty proper.

1 Samuel 9:5-8, 10
5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.” 6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”
8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” 10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

Once they get to the town, they inquire and we pick up the story in v19.

1 Samuel 9:19-21
19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” 21 And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”

In chapter 10, Saul is anointed as king, prophesies, it was a big moment,
but a few moments later his uncle asked where he’d gone. Saul told him he’d met with Samuel but said nothing about being king.

Then Samuel called everyone together at Mizpah to proclaim Saul king to the people. And even though Samuel had already anointed Saul king, he drew lots before them. The tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then the family of Matri, then Saul son of Kish was chosen, but Saul couldn’t be found anywhere. So Samuel asked God where he was and the Lord said in v22,
“He is hidden among the equipment.

1 Samuel 10:25-27
25 Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

Stick with me, I am painting a picture here. Three chapters later, the Philistines are approaching and Saul was told by Samuel to wait 7 days until he got back so that Samuel could do a sacrifice to the Lord for victory.

1 Samuel 13:8-12
8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.(sometimes we have to wait just to see if we’ll obey)
11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

Four chapters later Saul was told to eliminate all the Amalekites, including livestock, but Saul spares the best animals and the king.

1 Samuel 15:17-23
17 And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ 19 Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?” 20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I carried out the mission he gave me. I brought back King Agag, but I destroyed everyone else. 21 Then my troops brought in the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and plunder to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”

A big clue into Saul’s mindset is the phrase “your God.” God wasn’t Saul’s god.

22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

Last one on Saul. David stands before him ready to fight Goliath:

1 Samuel 17:32-33
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” 33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

There isn’t a single event in this timeline of 8 chapters where Saul responds with responsibility for his actions or ownership of his obedience.
In every single chapter and in every single scenario, Saul has an excuse.
It made him cowardly, paralyzed him, made him reactive to situations around him.

And then there is David. We see David anointed in chapter 16, but Samuel performed this anointing in private so not to cause havoc with Saul, and while Samuel knows David is being anointed as king, that information is not shared with David.

Then we have the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17.

1 Samuel 17:20-31
20 So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. 21 Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel. 24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!” 26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” 27 And these men gave David the same reply. They said, “Yes, that is the reward for killing him.” 28 But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!” 29 “What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!” 30 He walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer. 31 Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him.

OK, just so we can keep up here: David just didn't go, he made sure the sheep were taken care of. Woke up early and hustled to the army. Left the supplies with the supply keeper.

Goliath comes up to taunt the army yet again for over a month. David hears the taunt, even though the army is "terrified and running away in fright.”

"Who is this uncircumcised Philistine who defies the armies of the living God?

We already saw in chapter 16 how much his brothers love David, being overlooked while Samuel anointed David. The oldest accuses David of being full of pride and having wickedness in his heart. That's important, so remember that for later.

Now David faces Saul.

1 Samuel 17:32-37
32 Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

Saul tried to give David his armor which clearly doesn't fit. Interesting moment here because why would he do that? Was he really thinking about David and trying to give him armor since he didn't have any, or did Saul want people to think it was him out there in the valley facing Goliath, not David? Honestly, the latter would be more on par with Saul’s personality and actions.

In every single scenario, Saul has an excuse. But David is not like that. In every single scenario, David rises to the challenge, he faces the threat, he doesn't run and hide, he doesn't cower in fear, he trusts God and acts.

“Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” David responded to stuff like this, even to Saul offering the hand of his daughter, with humility, with gratitude, with honor. Even when the relationship between David and Saul turned south, there were moments when David had the opportunity to oof Saul, but he refused to "touch the Lord anointed.”

Saul on the other hand became jealous, "They ascribed to David 10,000s and to me only thousands. Now what else can have but the kingdom?" Saul became jealous and eyed David from that day forward.

I have taken a lot of time with the set up, so what is it exactly I'm trying to relay to you today?

Last week during the message, I made a comment that was pretty impactful for me. "You might be tired of it, but you're clearly not tired of it enough to change it.”

So far I've shared portions of the stories of two individuals who were wildly different. One character was tired of it, but not tired enough. One was tired of it and was tired enough. One character was cowardly, afraid to act. One was courageous, ready to act. One character was reactive. One was proactive.

I've become increasingly concerned that we have a generation of people today who are reactive, not proactive. When they are faced with a challenge, they take on the qualities of Saul more than the qualities of David. They are concerned with what people think, with making the wrong decision, with failing. They don't believe in themselves, they don't believe what God's said about them. They have chosen to embrace a narrative for their lives that is drastically inferior to what God has for them. They are incessantly anxious. And while they are tired of it, they aren't tired enough of it to do anything about it.

If you feel like you are more like Saul than you are David, I know this message so far is wildly un-encouraging to you. But please hear the heart behind all of this: There is a David inside of you, but if David is going to be king, Saul has to be deposed. Scenarios, good and bad, happen to all of us, but those scenarios do not have to rule over us. You don't have to live at the mercy of the negativity around you, nor your reaction to the negativity around you. You can have the same passion and courage, even the same response, that David showed in all of these situations he faced.

My point is that you can choose to be a terrified Israelite running away from the threat, or David, who is willing to go into the valley to face it. You can choose to be Saul who had an excuse for everything, or David who had a response for everything. You can choose to be tired of it, but not tired of it enough, or you can be tired of it and be tired of it enough to do something about it.

What’s it going to be? Maybe we need to identify that thing your tired of first.

Let me ask you this question:
What is one thing in your life right now that you're tired of, but you're clearly not tired of it enough to do anything about it?

Granted, that's a tough question because it requires you to give an answer that has results that are potentially life altering. And maybe you need some specific scenarios as examples:
Are you tired of your job?
Are you tired of your financial situation?
Are you tired of that addiction?
Are you tired of how big of a deal your past plays in your present?
Are you tired of how your kid is acting?
Everybody look straight at me on this one:
Are you tired of your spouse, or at the least, the constant fighting?

But are you tired enough to do something about it? Are you willing to muster your courage, march into the valley, and face the threat?

My desire for you today is that you go from a Saul mentality to a David mentality. From living and dying by the situations around you, to living above them. From being reactive and always on defense, to being proactive and always on offense.

But how?

1. It starts in the heart
Acts 13:22, referencing 1 Samuel 13
I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.

Most of us have heard this said that David was a man after God’s own heart. You might look at the rest of David's story and ask, "how?" David did some pretty messed up stuff: cheated with Bathsheba, murdered Uriah, was disobedient to God, among other things. While David definitely had some flaws, one thing David always did when confronted with his sin is that he took responsibility and repented. I've yet to find where David made the same mistake twice.

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

This is how David was able to be a man after God's own heart. It wasn't that David was perfect, it was that he was repentant. He wanted to be obedient, and when he was found with sin, he did what it took to restore the relationship with God, at one point even asking God to punish him directly, and not the people he was ruling.

From the jump, David had a heart that was after God, and that means David worked hard to be obedient, honor God, build that relationship. Is your heart after God like that? Do you want to honor him? Do you want to be obedient? When there is something that's keeping you from that relationship with him or from you growing, are you willing to deal with it so you can move past it? Are you tired enough of that thing that separates you from God to do something about it?

You might say, “This isn't super fair to Saul. It seems like David got special treatment.” In 1 Samuel 10 when Saul found Samuel, Samuel anointed Saul as king and then tells him a bunch of things that are going to happen, most of the miraculous. Then we see something powerful in 1 Samuel 10:9
So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.

“Gave him” is hawfak in Hebrew, and means to “turn over.” God renewed his heart, created a clean one, renewed a right spirit in him.

The very same thing that God wants to do in us is the same thing he did in David and Saul. It starts in the heart. God wants to give you a clean heart, a right spirit, and often, the thing we’re tired of that needs to change is actually changed by our heart and spirit being corrected.

Psalm 51:10 is a very famous passage of scripture that most have heard before, and it is super encouraging that we cannot only ask, but that God will create a clean heart in us and renew our right spirit within us. But we often focus on the benefits of the passage, but you have to realize the implication here: Your heart can get dirty. Your spirit can be wrong.

A person whose heart is after God is not a person who is perfect, but a person who takes responsibility, not one who makes excuses, who cleanses their heart through repentance, and renews their spirit through fellowship with God.

Saul didn’t fail because he was a bad king. He failed because he let his heart get dirty and his spirit get wrong.

How’s your heart? How’s your spirit? Do you need your heart turned over, cleansed, renewed? It starts in the heart.

2. It’s followed by confidence
Saul was not confident. David was. So is that just a personality thing? Notice where their confidences were rooted.

Saul - His confidence was in the flesh.
He initially hid his actual flesh from being proclaimed king, but he actually started well. His first victory he gave to God, but the very next chapter, his flesh got the best of him and he sacrificed instead of waiting and obeying.
it was downhill from there. The rest of his reign was governed by his flesh, how he felt, how he was being treated or respected or thought about.

David - His confidence was in the Lord.
Who defies the armies of the Living God? Let me fight him. God delivered me from the mouth of the lion and the paw of the bear. God will deliver me from the hand of this uncircumcised Philistine. Even when Goliath taunted him, David let the Lord go before him. The Lord was with David and everyone knew it, yet David didn’t take that for granted. It was never by David’s strength or might, but the Lord’s.

Where is your confidence rooted?
If it is in your flesh, then you will produce the fruit of the flesh. You will always be subject to its desires, emotions, and whims. You might have brief moments of victory over it, but you will inevitably loose the war to it.

But if it is in the Lord, then no matter what threat you face, the battle is the Lord’s.

We can see this difference fleshed out in 1 Samuel 14 where Saul made a rash oath. The army was starving, had been fighting constantly, they were literally fainting, and they came upon a forest that had honey dripping everywhere. Saul says in 1 Samuel 14:24
Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.

Whose enemies? I thought you were anointed as king to guide God’s people.

But watch David: 1 Samuel 17:45-47
45 You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.

Do you see the difference? One way puts all the emphasis on self. The other on God. When a threat comes your way, which are you, Saul or David? Do you try to do it yourself, or do you lean into God? That'll tell you where you're confidence is.

Where’s your confidence?
And is your confidence being in your own ability the thing that is keeping you from doing something about what your tired of?

It starts with the heart. It’s followed by confidence.

3. It ends with victory
Jimmy Evans says this of marriage: You have a 100% chance of succeeding in marriage if you do it God’s way. That literally works with every single area of your life. Just do what he says. Obey.

Finances stink, or are you constantly having to work to get more money?
Stop feeding your flesh and get in financial covenant with God. Malachi 3. Be content with what you have.

Marriage struggling?
Stop loving yourself and what you want more than your spouse. Love them like Jesus loves the church, submit to EACH OTHER.

Kids going berserk?
Stop giving them every little thing they want, especially if you’re trying to overcompensate for what you never had. Discipline your children. Spare not the rod. Say no. All this is biblical.

Having a hard time trusting God?
Stop fighting him and just trust him. Your flesh will never let you get to a place where it is ok with relinquishing control. Your spirit has to override your flesh, including your logic. Some of us are so intellectually smart that we’re spiritually dumb.

Can’t forgive your past?
Do you think it was hard for David to walk down into that valley to potential doom? Do you think it was hard for Peter to step out onto the water? Do you think it was tough on John to stand there at the foot of the cross? Was it hard for Jesus to bleed and die?

I realize you are not being crucified in the flesh today, but maybe your flesh is what you haven’t been willing to crucify yet.

It ends in victory if you are willing to fight the battle God’s way, if you’re willing to trust him for the outcome.

We know what made Saul cower in fear and disobedience. His flesh. God gave him a new heart, but Saul allowed his flesh to corrupt it again.

But what made David so willing to do something about that which he was tired of? “I’m sick of this yapping giant. Hold my Coke Zero.”

What made David fight the lion and bear over a simple lamb?
What made him ignore his loser brother, who actually told the man whose heart was after God that his heart was wicked and prideful?
What made David so confident in front of Saul?
And what made David tower in spirit over the giant?

I am convinced that David could be proactive, confident, respond to life’s scenarios in the way he did because his heart was after God, his confidence was in the Lord, and the hope victory was the Almighty.

What about you? How’s your heart? Where’s your confidence? Where’s your hope?

Matthew 9:20-22
And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

We often skip the importance of what she did, and it wasn’t her healing. She had a flow of blood for 12 years, spent every time she had on doctors, no relief. Her constant flow of blood made her unclean, and that meant she couldn’t be around people list they be unclean.She couldn’t be touched, couldn’t be brushed up against, couldn’t be around others.She hadn’t had a hug in 12 years, the person look her in the eye, nothing.I wonder what was worse, the flow of blood, or being discarded and forgotten.

She got to a place where she was tired of it, and tired enough to do something about it. She was tired enough to break protocol, to risk the punishment, risk it all. And why?

Malachi 4:2
But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.

The word wings is translated as “fringe.” The fringe of his wing…the fringe of his garment. She wasn’t risking it all to be reckless. She was risking it all because she believed the word of God, that the son of righteousness had healing in his wings.

I am not asking you today to blindly leap into the valley to face that thing you’re so tired of.I’m asking you to trust God, believe what his word says, and then act in faith accordingly.

Whatever it is, you’re tired of, whatever that thing is, you know needs to change,It’s time to stop relying on yourself to fix it, it’s time to submit to Jesus for change, for healing.

Let’s pray.

Those who need a clean heart, you need your spirit renewed, you need to be filled with hope.Those who are tired of it and are tired of it enough to do something about it, come now. Come and submit, repent, change your heart, be renewed.

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?

How does he want you to respond?